One Year in Starfall
by Gabriella Fairbourne
Summary: Zechs Merquise and Lucrezia Noin have their hands full as Leaders of Starfall Village. How can you stay dead when Mars is so much fun? 6x9 UPDATE: I fixed my horridly botched Chapter 10 and added a few things! If you can forgive my mistakes, please read.
1. Christmas

_Christmas_  
><em>Somewhere between here and there.<em>

It was not his most graceful moment; Treize would have been disappointed. After months of practicing his lines and imagining a perfect reunion in his head, it was not the result Zechs Merquise envisioned. What happened to years of training in romance, elegance, roses and dueling and waltzing? What happened to the gentleman soldier?

Quite simply, he tripped and fell.

It was the stupid gravity shift between the docking bay and the cabin. He ought to have remembered it. Few people had as much experience in space as he did. Perhaps it was the shock of seeing her lovely face on his screens, hearing her voice, that lilt in her tone belonging to him alone. Noin's expression was politely neutral while her eyes spoke volumes. Zechs managed to navigate that first hesitant communication with laudable precision. Wait a moment before acknowledging, keep your voice cool, and only then initiate eye contact just long enough to be polite. Forget kissing her, forget those nights in Sanc, and do not let on the depth of reassurance her presence gives. It was perfect; for the first time in over a year, he felt like himself.

It took about ten minutes to secure Tallgeese in the docking bay and finish the post flight procedure. It was a beautiful machine, Tallgeese. Ignoring a familiar twinge of pain in his arm, he climbed out of the suit, grabbed the guardrail, and floated gracefully to the airlock as he had done a thousand times.

The prince stopped breathing when the lock clicked. The door opened to reveal her standing there when she could have opened it remotely from the cockpit.

Lucrezia... Zechs's eyes locked with hers and forgot everything else. Oh God, she was beautiful…and alive…real. So long had she been a memory, he did not know what to do. She held out her hand, offering help.

The next thing he knew, his foot struck the deck and he was falling into her. He tried to catch himself on the wall, but there was nothing to hold on to, so he grabbed Noin instead. With a cry, the soldier girl put her arms around him to catch him…and they landed in a tangle in the corridor.

Lifting his head, Zechs gazed down at her with an apology on his lips, a thousand words of greeting that wouldn't come. Not a one…he was lost. It was really her. After all this time, he was finally back where he always most desired to be.

Noin, lying on her back and draped in his long golden hair smiled and said, "It's called gravity, Zechs."

The prince slowly tugged his hair back, removed it from her face and let it fall in a curtain around them. He could not move more than that; time was frozen now. So was Noin, resting beneath him without a trace of surprise. It was like she expected him. Zechs watched her for a long moment, the slow rise and fall of her chest, the shadow of tears on her unfairly long lashes, one shoulder bared when he seized her jacket on impulse to keep from collapsing like a green cadet at her feet.

Home…he was home.

"If I dream, please God do not wake me…" he sighed.

"Zechs…"

"Noin," all he could think of was to hold her. Just to hold her until he was no longer afraid of the space between breaths. After every one, his princess was still there, her heart fluttering, warm tears on his neck. It was so real. Other senses infiltrated one by one. Soft skin, a slender waist, shimmering black hair that tickled his chin, and long legs entwined with his… Slowly, he lifted her from the floor, his overtaxed body shaking with the effort. Noin did not let go. She moved with him so she was still touching him as much as possible. Her skilled fingers went to the fastenings of his flight suit, unzipping, unbuckling. It occurred to him he did not know if he could manage this without her. A stab of fear came from nowhere. Here was the safest place in the world yet his arm ached worse than ever…and Ember was thousands of miles away.

Noin was silent as she helped him out of the flight suit. Tears streamed down her face as she worked. When she slipped the snug material from his shoulders he winced in pain; he couldn't help it. Noin flinched. "Are you all right?"

"Yes…" How could he be anything else? She was right there, right in front of him, touching him. His princess… Somehow the pain and fear seemed immediately less. He closed his eyes as she completed her task. The short-sleeve tee shirt and shorts he wore underneath could not hide all of his scars. Noin rubbed cautious fingers over his arms and hands and stopped at the newest needle marks. Ember had shot him full of painkillers, stimulants, and an alphabet of cardiac drugs before sending him on his way.

"You're hurt."

"Only a little," he downplayed it. What was the use in scaring her now? At least she could not see his chest.

"Can you stand?"

Zechs shook his head, leaning in again. "Not yet." There was something else he needed first, a desperately important thing. Wet violet eyes flashed as he approached; his mouth was mere centimeters from hers when she turned away…only enough to make him hesitate.

"Relena," she explained it in a word. As much as she wanted to, the soldier girl could not rest yet. "Relena is out there. I'm so sorry, Zechs."

"We'll find her."

"I should never have let her go alone…"

"It isn't your fault." Zechs found it oddly comforting to be the protective one for a change. With hands still trembling from the effort of piloting, he touched her face, gently forcing her to look at him. "You are not alone in this, not anymore."

Shaken, Noin nodded. More tears slipped among her long lashes. This time she held still for him. He leaned in with eyes closed, then changed his mind, wanting to see her, to make sure she didn't move away again. Automatically, a move born of much practice, Noin pushed his long hair away from his chin. Satin lips met his, salty with tears. Her lashes fluttered closed, content. Zechs allowed his eyes to close, too so he could concentrate solely on the kiss, on this reunion so long in coming. He changed his mind. It was perfect, his most graceful moment after all.

* * *

><p>AN: This is the "I'm here to pick you up" scene from Endless Waltz. In case you haven't seen it in a while... ^^<p> 


	2. Across the Square

Mars Terra Project  
>Starfall Village<p>

"I think it's this one." She stopped on the road, red dust swirling around her feet. There was dust in her hair and on her hands. It was amazing how it got into everything so fast. It was even in the pockets of his coat.

He looked at the apartment. It was the same as all of the others. Nothing here was unique. It was row upon row of prefabricated buildings. It was going to be home.

Lucrezia Noin tried her keycard. The plain gray door slid open with a click. She leaned in, curious eyes hidden in the pitch dark room, but he heard her breathing quicken in anticipation.

Zechs Merquise reached past her and studied the keypad next to the door. He hit a few buttons and the lights came on, illuminating an impossibly small apartment.

Noin stepped in, glanced about. "Nice…"

"What's nice about it? Treize's closet was bigger than this."

"It's like Lake Victoria. You know, like the student dorms. And it has a second floor."

Together they regarded the standard living quarters for the Fell Evershade Mars Terra Project team. Long accustomed to fabulous palaces and the calculated opulence of the OZ Organization they once served, the apartment was a bit of a shock. She was right. It was almost like a dorm room. Small, white and gray, a little kitchen and a living room and a staircase at the back led to the second floor. Even at LVA, the dorms did not have second floors.

Zechs decided that as long as Noin was happy with it, he would not complain. For a person who lost everything remotely domestic when he was six and then spent the next thirteen years wandering, followed by a year to contemplate this, a tiny apartment was as beautiful as a palace.

Noin looked at the floor plan on her tablet. "There are two bedrooms upstairs. I guess mine is the same."

"Yours…?"

She looked up at him. Some raven hair slid back from her deep eyes and she smiled. "Yeah," she pointed with the tablet over her shoulder, "my apartment is across the square."

"What's the square?"

"That's what this map calls the big open place in the middle."

"Noin, I don't want you to stay across the square. Or even next to it, whatever it is." Zechs realized he sounded like he was giving orders. Old habits…

Noin frowned, "So where exactly do you want me?"

"I want you to stay here," he said it fast, without looking at her. It would kill him to see the shift in emotion in her violet eyes if the reaction was not a favorable one.

"Here?"

"Yes, here. It's big enough…"

"I thought it was too small."

"I thought you said the size reminded you of Lake Victoria!" he heard himself shout this time. Zechs examined the tops of his favorite black boots, sprinkled with red dust. Red footprints marked their path into the apartment. "We need a doormat," he added without thinking.

Noin was silent by his side. She was probably working on a way to tell him she was going to live across the square anyway.

"A doormat and furniture," she said.

Zechs turned his head just a bit and peered at the girl through his bangs. Noin gazed straight ahead…and were those tears on her black lashes? "Noin…?"

She blinked up at him. "Do you think we can get red roses on Mars?"

"I'll talk to Ember," he promised. "Noin, if only you are sure…"

"Will you stop asking me things and then taking them back when you already got the answer you want?"

Zechs hid a smile. "I will try," he gave in, a thing he was not good at, unless it was for her. Finding out she actually wanted to come to Mars with him was high on his short list of pleasant memories. Maybe the list would be longer someday.

"Which room do you want?" she asked, already on her way to the stairs.

He tried to figure out how to say it. "The same one you are in."

"Zechs…!"

"It isn't like we haven't shared a room before."

"That was different."

"We don't have much room…I am only trying to save space."

"If you want to share, just say it."

"I thought I did," he complained, following.


	3. Cheeseburger in Near Paradise

AN: Zechs is the kind of person who ends up in charge because he is good at it, not because he wants to.

Kieran Fell Evershade  
>Leader of the Terraforming Team on Mars<br>Starfall Village

Day 01

They left their bags unpacked upstairs in the apartment, turned up the heat for a little warmth, and walked back across the square looking for the administration building. All of Starfall Village's buildings looked the same: prefabricated modular structures in a nondescript gray ideal for temporary use and not the least bit inviting. The structure marked "Admin" in black spray paint was merely several of those buildings stacked together.

Lucrezia was very tired after the long flight. Even here in the climate-controlled environmental dome, she still heard the rush of the shuttle's engines. Zechs was no better off, although one could never tell to look at him. Platinum hair spilled perfectly straight over his back and there was not a wrinkle in his clothing. It was impossible to know the time here; by their clock it was early afternoon. The village was deserted.

Admin was unlocked. They let themselves in to the relatively silent building. According to the docking crew at the equally desolate landing field where they left the shuttle, Kieran Fell Evershade was inside the dome today and worked in Admin. Kieran led the Terraforming Team and was the closest thing the Mars Colony had to a leader.

Zechs and Lucrezia had to search most of the building before they found him in a large room on the third floor, hunched over a battered desk littered with papers. Several more desks and equally beaten up chairs were scattered about the room. A map of the planet's surface covered one wall. The only window looked out to the open plain beside the Village.

"Hey," the dark-haired man at the desk looked up when they came in. Long accustomed to making an entrance, the two former OZ officers strode in and stopped before him in perfect unison. He gazed up at them, perplexed.

"Doctor Kieran Fell Evershade…?" Zechs inquired politely.

"Yeah, that's me." Rising slowly, he brushed a dusty red hand over his coveralls before holding it out to the prince. "Can I help you?"

"Yes. I am Wind and this is Fire. We arrived this afternoon and were told to see you."

Kieran's expression shifted slowly into a knowing grin as he regarded the pair. "Are you joking? Whatever…Zechs Merquise and Lucrezia Noin… Welcome to Starfall Village."

She hid a grin; Zechs actually looked confused at getting recognized. Perhaps he'd worn that mask a bit too long…

Kieran continued to stare. "What are you doing here? No offense, but this is kind of a surprise."

"We are here to help with the Terraforming project," Zechs said as if it should be obvious.

"Really…?"

"Yes, really…" Lucrezia interjected, for Zechs was beginning to look mad. "We are here to help on behalf of Relena Darlian Peacecraft."

The Terraformer looked from one to the other. He was very tall and thin, with red streaks dyed into his brown hair and deep brown eyes. Apart from the dusty coveralls, the Mars logo on his shoulder torn and faded, and the dyed hair, he carried himself in a familiar graceful way. "Again, forgive me please, but…what exactly can you do?"

"We are mobile suit pilots. I used to be a flight instructor. And both of us have leadership experience. We can also fence, waltz, and plan a wicked formal ball." She added that last purely to lighten the moment; Kieran looked far too awestruck for her taste.

"All right," Kieran smiled slowly. Lucrezia returned it, relying on all the charm Treize taught her.

"As you probably know, my team is responsible for creating a stable atmosphere and a reliable water source. We spend most days outside the dome. I hardly ever get to catch up on all this…" he indicated the desk. "If you could run the village, I could get more work done. Have you any plans of your own?"

Zechs spoke up. "My original intention in coming here was to build a deep space telescope. Has an astronomer named Toya Kiri contacted you?"

"Yes, last week. He did not mention you."

"I asked him not to," Zechs said. "It is my wish to remain somewhat anonymous."

"Trouble with Earth, huh?"

"Let us say I do not wish to create further complications for my sister while she is in a position of responsibility."

"Whatever," Kieran said again, shrugging. "Frankly, I could not care less who you are or where you came from…or even who tried to drop a space station on what planet. All I want is for this project to succeed. My family has invested a lot in it. I would also hate to be the one to disappoint Queen Relena. If you want to work with me, all I have to say is, wow…I can't believe _I_ got Zechs and Noin!"

"What…?" Zechs and Noin said together.

"You have heard of my family's company, Fell Evershade Biomedical, right?"

"Of course," said Lucrezia. "You provided the military with medical supplies and the Colonies with life support."

"Right… We derived the atmospheric conversion process we are testing here," he pointed at the red rocky plain outside the window, "from those life support systems. Anyway, Fell Evershade was heavily invested with the military. Of course I have heard of you. And I am not going to turn you down, only…I have to say you might feel a little out of place here. We do not have much for luxuries."

"We saw our apartment."

"Yeah… Supplies are a serious problem. We do have a large hydroponics lab and a greenhouse. Fresh food is not so much of an issue. Water is intermittent. I am sorry, but it is turned off until tonight while we put in some new pipes to help with that." He dug through his cluttered desk and produced an old thumb drive to drop in Lucrezia's hand. "Here are the specs on the Village…immediate needs and so forth. Kylie Zhan is our quartermaster. I'd introduce you, but she's in the field. Also, can you run a construction mobile suit?"

Zechs looked insulted. "Of course we can."

"We can fly anything you want." Lucrezia added.

"Good…We need pilots. I might have you train the rest of my crew. When will your astronomer arrive?"

"Within the month," Zechs said. "And I have arranged for a medical staff. I read that you did not have one."

"Medical doctors…? No, all we have is one former Alliance medic. Fortunately, he has been able to handle everything so far. Thank you," Kieran's expression was sincere now and not so filled with worship. Then he grinned again and shook his head. "I get Zechs and Noin…! Wow… I gotta thank Queen Relena. Will you join us for dinner tonight? It would be a great honor."

Lucrezia glanced at Zechs for confirmation before replying. "We will if you promise not to be honored and treat us like any other colonists. We are here to work."

"Okay… Dinner is at nineteen hundred in the building next door. After that, we usually get together in the square. That's the open space in the center of the apartment complex. Now, forgive me one last time, but the two of you look very tired. Please take some time to rest and get oriented. That drive has a complete map of the settlement if you do not already have one. Here is a key to this building," he tossed them each a card. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Wow…Zechs and Noin… I can't believe it."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we don't have water," Zechs sounded a bit desperate. To be certain he tried both sinks and the shower.<p>

"Only until tonight," Lucrezia reassured him. She lay in the middle of the bedroom floor, studying Kieran's new information on her computer. "We can last until then." Of course she was trying to be positive. The shuttle was on its last drops of water so they had few options.

Zechs came back and began unpacking their sleeping bags. Expecting more in the way of furnishings, they traveled light. Also, most of the shuttle's hold was taken up by a large mobile suit; Zechs refused to leave Tallgeese on Earth. She had no idea what they were going to do with it. Eventually they would have to take it out of the shuttle…and put it where? It was doubtful they could park it under a tarp behind the apartment complex and avoid notice.

Lucrezia watched him struggle with the zippers on the sleeping bags and scowl so intensely she ventured to ask what was wrong.

"I am trying to zip these together," he snapped. "And I am sorry, but I need to wash my hair."

"Calm down, Zechs. Think back to survival school. What did we learn?"

"It was an OZ survival school. We learned how to properly set a table in the event we did not have salad forks available. We learned how to charm our way into the nicest manor in the village in the event we were stranded and if we succeeded in charming our way in, how to assemble an appropriate gift for the lady of the house from leaves and berries. None of those things is going to help us here."

"You're right…we're helpless." Lucrezia giggled. She turned off the computer and pushed it away. "I need a nap," she begged. "Quit playing with those things."

"I am certain if I keep at it…"

"Zechs…"

"Fine…" he tossed the sleeping bags to the floor and collapsed into them. Even Zechs Merquise got angry when he was tired. Of course, Zechs Merquise got angry at almost everything. She watched him stretch out on his back and glare at the ceiling as if expecting it to submit. Purposefully placing herself in his line of sight, she leaned over him, leaned close. Her eyes felt heavy from lack of sleep. Why was it so hard for her to sleep in space…? Well, he had not made it easy.

"Wow…" Lucrezia whispered, gazing into his eyes and mimicking Kieran's awed voice. "I can't believe its Zechs and Noin!"

"Lucrezia, that's not funny…"

"I can't believe we got us…!"

"Stop it Noin!" a smile played about his stern mouth.

"It is such an honor to have us here!"

"Noin…!" She dodged, but not fast enough. His reflexes were as fast as his nickname suggested; the next thing she knew she was immersed in a pile of sleeping bags, pinned beneath an amused Lightning Count, his ostentatious hair falling across her face and neck. Zechs sighed, "Noin, I cannot believe I am saying this, but I am tired. Will you please allow me to sleep undisturbed?"

"Funny…I thought I told you the same thing last night."

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, they slept through dinner. For soldiers of Treize, it was desperately bad manners. By the time they stumbled outside, the terraformers were already in the square, clustered around a small campfire. Kieran leaped up as soon as he saw them and escorted them to a bench near the fire. "Bob," he shouted, "get these guys some food."<p>

"Who are you?" said a girl with black stripes in her blonde hair, seated across from them.

"Wind and Fire…" Zechs decided to give anonymity one more shot.

The girl stared at him. "No way…you're that crazy Tallgeese pilot and the hot chick from Sanc. Cool... I'm Kylie. That's my loser brother Bob," she pointed to the equally blonde man at the grill. "What the hell are you two doing on Mars?"

"Does it matter?" Zechs asked.

"Not really…" Kylie kicked open a cooler by her feet and pulled out some dark bottles. "Want a beer…?"

Of course it would be impolite to say no. There were about twenty Terraformers clustered around the fire and the grill and all eyes were on Zechs and Noin. "I thought we missed dinner," Lucrezia said.

"We decided to have dinner out here. The grill makes the cafeteria too smoky." The blonde man with the unlikely name of Bob handed them each a plate. Lucrezia stared at the odd looking sandwich a moment, reminded of the pep rallies at Lake Victoria and the food her young students preferred. She could make them sit at table during the week, but given the chance they chose things like cheeseburgers and pizza. If she remembered correctly, it was a cheeseburger.

"What the…?" Zechs said in her ear.

"It's all right," she assured him, picking hers up. "It's very good."

"Shouldn't you use a fork?" he admonished.

"Not for this…don't worry about it."

"Lucrezia…"

"Just eat it. You'll like it," she promised, bemused. Zechs could be such a prince sometimes without even knowing it.

Kieran introduced them to the small circle of scientists, none of which seemed particularly concerned about the identities of the new arrivals. "It's about time somebody showed up," said Dave, the medic. "We wondered if everyone forgot about us."

"There was some trouble on Earth recently," Lucrezia explained. None of them had heard of the Mariemaia Army or the sudden return of the Gundams. She recounted the story for a suddenly rapt audience eager for news from the Earth Sphere. It was painfully obvious from their reactions how remote Mars really was.

Everyone here was a Fell Evershade employee. These were devoted scientists, dedicated to their project, and uninterested in world politics except when they interfered with their work. The one concern they had in common was for Relena; there was a minor uproar over her kidnapping. Assured that she was fine, the terraformers launched into expressions of gratitude for her help. Relena was the project's major advocate, part of the reason Zechs wanted to come here. In that case the terraformers were more than able to forget a few things and celebrate the fact that Queen Relena's very own brother wanted to help them.

"Is this everyone?" Lucrezia asked Kieran later as the group broke up, heading for dim apartments and makeshift beds. "It seems like such a small group."

"Not many people want to come out here."

"I hope to change that," Zechs said.

Kieran gave him a curious look. "How…?"

"Astronomers from all over the Earth Sphere will be interested in a telescope with an uninterrupted view."

"Good point," Kieran kicked at the rocky red soil beneath his feet. "I hope you are right. We are fully funded by my company and Relena sends what she can, but it would be nice to be self-sufficient, to have something to draw people here apart from my project; not everyone can engineer an atmosphere. And thank you for the doctors. Another step closer to a real settlement," Kieran smiled. "I hope that will convince more families to come out. Thank you for joining us for dinner and the news from Earth." They talked a while longer, made arrangements for the morning, and left for their own apartments. Kieran lived near admin.

* * *

><p>Zechs fell asleep the instant he lay down; Lucrezia stayed awake a few minutes longer, aware of the silence. Only twenty seven people slept on this whole planet. It was the most remote place she had ever been. Long an advocate for outer space, she accepted the Colony residents led isolated, difficult lives, but never appreciated it until this moment. Lying on the floor in an empty apartment, the dim glow of diffused sunlight peeking through the concealing dome, and the lonely wind over the mountains, it was easy to sympathize…and to feel desperately alone even with Zechs by her side.<p>

Snoring…

Lucrezia smiled and rolled over, curled up against him for warmth and the needed reminder that another person lived here with her. She fell asleep listening to a wind that brought no sound of rustling leaves or birdsong, no scent of fresh water; only the air, dust, and ice of Mars.


	4. The One Year and Two Days

The Year and Two Days

AC195

When Epyon fell he thought…I cannot tell the princess who slays dragons that it will be all right.

It was a ridiculous notion even for one who once proclaimed himself prince of all the stars, except that she adored the stars…and the dragon was dying. If he left now, he would never know if it was truly dead. Dragons were brilliant, possessive creatures. One could not easily steal from a dragon. She had, unknowingly, taken what it wanted most of all.

Epyon thought it could take his fractured heart and use it to its advantage. The corrupted Zero System would fight forever given a chance. Epyon leaped at the opportunity to torment its conflicted pilot…but it was only a machine. And it made a fatal mistake. It tried to fight the princess. It did not know that Her Grace the Duchess of Rome understood everything better than Epyon. Zero was nothing to her. Lucrezia saw the result of this battle long before Zero was ever built. Death, followed by rebirth; a fate none of them could escape.

The dragon identified her as a threat. It was right to do so. Somewhere in the minutes that followed, Zechs Merquise remembered why. Lucrezia of Rome was not afraid of Zero or Epyon or its damaged pilot because she knew them all. And she knew their fates. Therefore, Zechs hadn't a prayer of warning her off. She ignored his pleas, his angry orders for her to leave. In those final horrible minutes he actually wanted to hurt her for ignoring him. With such a battle sense, she ought to know she was in danger! Why won't you go? Why?

It took everything he had to fight Epyon for control. The dragon took all of Zechs's frantic pain, his worry for this girl, and lashed out to destroy her. After all, if she died, it would be that much closer to its goals. If she died, Zechs would belong to Epyon forever.

The saber missed her by a breath and he fled; forced the outraged dragon to turn and leave her behind. "Why am I still so spineless…?" he wept to the empty cockpit, the unsympathetic voice. Epyon berated him for the weakness. If he were the soldier he wanted to be, that she already was, the princess would be dead. If it were her in his place, she would have done her job. Lucrezia was so brave and amazing…and nothing owned her soul except a fallen prince of Sanc too weak to deserve it. Thoughts of her assaulted him, outraging Epyon still more. For the first time in weeks he was consumed by something else…and the dragon began to realize this fractured pilot was not what it wanted.

However she did it, in that moment Lucrezia broke Epyon's stranglehold on her prince. At the end he was able to make a choice worthy of her and let Heero live. Maybe that was why it only hurt a little when the dragon fell to Earth. And the constant barrage of Zero was silent and gone. At the end it was only the prince, thinking only of his princess…

When Epyon fell, he prayed…wait for me. Wait for me and understand…

* * *

><p><em>One Week<em>

It seemed a lifetime passed before he became aware of sound. A voice, low and quiet, gave orders. When he opened his eyes, it took as much effort as the first time he flew the Tallgeese. Lifting a hand to his face, he encountered wires and tubes threaded through his skin. Suddenly frightened, the erstwhile prince turned his head as much as possible to see the rest of the room.

It was a plain white hospital room. He lay in a bed with blue curtains around it, a plastic oxygen mask over his face. And by his side was a young man with eyes of purest blue.

"Treize…?" he tried to say, his voice breaking with hope.

"Hey…you're awake, aren't you?" said the young man, drawing near. Not Treize, but a doctor in a white coat. "Hi, I'm Rhodri."

The doctor spoke to him so easily and his pure eyes were so kind. It was not a thing he was accustomed to. Before, he was a leader, prince, hero, and a legend to be feared. Now…he had no idea what he was. Except sick, hurting everywhere, tired, disoriented, lonely…

"Don't try to move," Rhodri said. "You're safe, you are on a colony. No one knows you're here." How did the doctor know he was worried about that? "I'm glad you are awake, but I'm going to put you under again for a while. It's not quite time yet."

"Wait…" Zechs Merquise caught the doctor's arm with fingers so weak they trembled. "A question…" his voice was already failing. Never had he felt such a soul-crushing weakness.

"Yes?"

"Lucrezia…Relena…" he pleaded, desperate to get the words out before his voice gave up, he settled for only names.

Rhodri leaned close again. "Her Grace the Duchess of Rome and Queen Relena…? They are both alive and well. Rest easy," he added laying a comforting hand on Zechs's shoulder. "It's all over."

"Heero…?"

"He's fine." Rhodri adjusted the tube in Zechs's arm; dazed, the prince watched as he injected something into it. Another smile that made the corners of the doctor's eyes crinkle and the prince was falling asleep again.

Lucrezia was alive.

Lucrezia…wait for me.

* * *

><p><em>Four Months<em>

The prince was almost unable to move at all. There was a tube in his throat, more tubes in his arms where they lay on the blue blanket. It was a supreme effort just to move his fingers. To take his mind off the rush of air through the respirator, its rhythmic clicking, and the sound of the heart monitor, he concentrated solely on moving his hands…just that little bit closer to being able to stand up. Zechs could not quite understand why he couldn't just get out of bed… He used to be able to do anything…except tell Noin…

"Hey…" Hazel eyes swam into view. Doctor Ember Lee Sunwing leaned in, her chin on her palm, stethoscope dangling from her neck alongside a silver cross. Her long hair brushed his cheek. Even that merest of contact from another human hurt. "Don't try to move, okay? You don't need to."

Zechs could only stare up at her. Ember was Rhodri's wife. And something in her smile, her voice, an indefinable something reminded Zechs of Noin's calming gift. No matter how horrible he felt, one look at Lucrezia and the pain subsided. And Ember, so used to tending to patients in all stages of healing…or dying…had cultivated this gift to its utmost. If Noin were a doctor instead of a soldier, would she be like Ember? He suspected he was drawn to her because there was no one else to be drawn to. Noin…where was Noin?

To his everlasting shame, tears spilled down his face. He wasn't even strong enough to blink them away. Thankfully, Ember did not resort to empty comfort or any such nonsense. She dried the tears with a soft cloth and an even lighter touch. She smoothed his golden hair and smiled in her friendly, fearless way.

"I know it hurts…" she said gently. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help you heal faster." Then, in an even softer voice, she said, "I wish I could bring her here to you."

No…! Zechs wanted to shout. The last thing he needed was for Noin to see this…but, if she were here...he did not think he would mind too much. Noin would lay here with him on the narrow bed. She would hold him and let him rest his aching head on her shoulder. Closing his eyes did nothing to stop the tears.

"Rest, please… I'll get you through this and out of here and back to her as fast as I can. It will be faster still if you rest." Ember touched his forehead lightly through the bangs…and he was lost inside the next of his dreams, so far from wherever this was.

It was a hill lush with green summer grass. Stars rained from the sky. Zechs lay on his back, arms stretched out to the side, staring up. It was a familiar place. Tallgeese crashed here. Howard's crew dragged him off this beach. It was memorable for the all-to-fleeting moment of solitude, of peace.

A creature growled. Painfully, Zechs turned his head. A red dragon stood on the beach, claws sinking into the white sand, its long spiked tail swishing back and forth in the water. Between him and the dragon, Lucrezia stood her ground. She was in formal dress uniform, the bright saber in her hand. Zechs called out to her. His voice was frozen, body paralyzed. All he could do was watch the dragon close in. Lucrezia held her ground. When the dragon got close enough to bite her, the saber flashed. The dragon bled. Tears flowed over the prince's cold face. Movement was impossible. She ought to let it onto the beach. Let me go…

…He lay on his back on the deck of a rocking ship, among the raining stars. Sailors laughed and drank together on the deck below him. An old man with a white beard and colorful Hawaiian shirt crouched beside him, a beer bottle in his hand. "You okay, boy? You're awful quiet tonight."

Zechs did not take his eyes from the stars. He pressed the playback button on the tiny recorder in his hand, playing back the same bit of combat record he had been listening to over and over since the sun went down over the ocean. _"I want to stay by his side, no matter what he does or what he searches for… Yes, I do love him."_

"Peacecraft…!" Howard raised his voice. "Come on down. Have a beer with us. Forget this war bullshit for a while. You're entirely too much in your head, boy."

"Leave me alone."

_I want to stay by his side, no matter what he does or what he searches for…__ Yes, I do love him._

* * *

><p><em>Five <em>_Months…?_

What if he was dying? Breathing seemed easy enough right now, but what if something happened to make it suddenly stop? Would Ember make it to his side in time? The only reason it felt easy to breathe was that a machine took care of it for him. Zechs wondered if he was left to it on his own if he would remember at all. At other times he wondered about nothing at all; he stared at the ceiling, watched the shadows cross it, morning to night, and felt numb.

What if he never got out of here?

Sleep overpowered sense. She was always in his dreams, once an echo of her brilliant self, next an apparition so real he could touch her, feel her. The dragon was also there. Every time it approached, she appeared and beat it back. Zechs slept with a thousand images of her, schoolgirl, soldier, classmate, competition, knight, partner, copilot, secret-keeper, battle planner, and, the best of the dreams, girlfriend, beloved, princess. Those were the dreams he sought refuge in.

* * *

><p><em>Six <em>_Months_

A voice, Ember's, came from somewhere next to his bed. Zechs was awake, but he did not open his eyes. She was no threat, Ember. When she was there, he did not worry about the space between breaths.

"I think he is doing better than expected with injuries of this type."

What type? He thought. What happened to me? Try as he might, the memory refused to surface. At least, not in the few times he was awake. Dreams were another matter. A red dragon, wet grass, a wealth of stars, Lucrezia's voice…

"I hoped he might be off life support…" Rhodri's voice drifted in and out. "I've seen much more responsive cardiac cases…"

"You're forgetting the damage we can't see." Ember's voice moved closer. What damage? What else? "Give him time. We've nothing but time…"

"Will you call her?"

"Not unless he wants me to. Besides, haven't you heard? She was named Princess Regent of the Sanc Kingdom when Princess Relena became Vice Foreign Minister."

* * *

><p><em>Seven <em>_Months_

It was summer in the Sanc Kingdom when he finally woke up. It was the same white room, the same blue drapes, and the same multicolored tubes to greet him. This time, Zechs was alone. When he tried to move, he found he could. Carefully, he lifted his right arm. Some of the tubes were gone. The pale skin was a riot of scars and healing cuts. What had happened? The memory was stale, slow. Epyon…

"Lucrezia," he breathed her name, struggling to sit up. To his surprise, he managed it. Zechs reached up, touched his hair. Still long, still the same… He looked at his chest. A narrow, very precise scar began at the hollow of his throat and traveled down several inches. Medical sensors littered his body. What in the…?

"Hey…" a familiar voice reached him and he looked up. A tall, caramel-haired woman with sparkling hazel eyes stood in the doorway.

"Ember..." Zechs offered a guess, though he knew he was right. Her voice was etched into his mind.

"That's right. How are you feeling?"

"I'm…better." He found it was not a lie. He could breathe and talk. That was incredibly better.

"Good to hear," his doctor smiled, stepping forward to read the monitors by his bed.

"What happened?"

Ember's smile vanished. "A lot of things have happened. What do you want to know?"

"Where is my little sister? Where is Lucrezia Noin? And how do you know anything about me?"

"You asked Rhodri about them when you arrived here. We made some calls. I have a few contacts in the Specials," she winked and added, "deep breath for me please." The cold metal of a stethoscope chilled his back. He breathed, Ember listened. Whatever she heard pleased her. She stepped away and draped the instrument around her neck and told him what she knew.

* * *

><p>Zechs lay on his side. Free of the breathing tubes, he was finally able to sleep that way and his body was grateful for that small thing. He could not walk. He did not feel like eating. It turned out breathing and talking were the only things he was capable of doing without help. The latter exhausted him so much he only spent ten minutes talking with Ember. Mostly, he listened.<p>

Lucrezia and Relena were safe. Relena had accepted her adopted father's job of Vice Foreign Minister. Lucrezia was keeping watch over the Sanc Kingdom. Ember said they were both popular leaders, highly praised, and…they were safe. That was the only thing Zechs cared about just then.

She was gone now, off seeing other patients. The room was empty, twilight fell on schedule. Now and then voices droned in the rooms and corridors beyond his. Someone was crying in a room nearby. The depth of loneliness threatened to drown him. It was not a new feeling. The familiarity of it tore at him.

"Can you sleep?" Zechs opened his eyes. Noin lay beside him, mimicking the position of his body, knees slightly bent, hips angled toward his, and one arm tucked under the other pillow. Her deep eyes were calm, distant, gazing at the window as if waiting for something. A dream, this was only a dream like all of the others, but it was so tempting to call it real… She did not fit any of her previous incarnations. Instead this was Noin free of the pain he inflicted on her. She was Lucrezia Noin young, innocent, and ignorant of the horrors of war. Instead of Oz finery or Sanc's purple and gold, she wore a silver dress. She was beautiful, scented deliciously of vanilla and violets, and…completely alien. Zechs suspected he conjured her for company, but would he love a Lucrezia who never saw battle? A duchess who never understood the same things he did? Part of her allure, he had to admit, was in her experience.

"Where are you my love? What are you doing right now?"

"I'm right here by your side," she whispered back. One blink and now she was splendid in her deep, dark blue coat, white cape spilling all around her and over him like protective wings. One slender hand in its silk glove touched his face. Noin smiled in her constant way and then he opened his eyes and she was gone. He touched the other pillow and thought it was warm, further proof he was losing his mind.

The lights brightened a little and Ember was back. "I thought I'd check in on you one more time. You seemed so sad when I left."

"I can't even walk, Ember. How am I supposed to help anyone, do anything, if I can't even walk?"

"You practice walking, Zechs," she said gently. "You practice until you can do it. I'll help you."

"Why help me…after all that I've done?"

"I help those who need me. It's in the oath," she winked. "Sleep well, Zechs Merquise."

Morning was different. Pain did not accompany waking, at least not the pain he was used to. Noin was in his dreams again.

Yesterday Ember told him news. Today, she sat on the foot of his bed, pretty in pink scrubs and a necklace made of white shells, and talked about what was wrong with him as matter of fact as if speaking of another patient. His heart sustained permanent damage, she replaced it. That explained why he was asleep for so long. Coma induced by medication to help him heal after the transplant and to guard against rejection. There was considerable damage to the heart muscle from a previous injury…what had he been doing to cause that? Pins and a titanium bar in his right leg made the bones set properly. The break in the left femur was not as serious and healed sufficiently without further surgical intervention. Numerous lacerations he incurred when Epyon's screens shattered were healing well. Scaring was minimal, surprisingly. Shortness of breath was a side-effect of the heart surgery. She said he had to permanently cut back on the heavy physical activity. She ordered physical therapy. Loss of muscle tone was to be expected after such a long time in bed. There was more, but he stopped hearing when she mentioned the damage to his heart.

"I know it sounds like a lot, but you'll be okay." Ember actually squeezed his foot. Zechs jumped. She did not appear to notice. "You will notice some improvement every day if you follow my advice."

It was a private hospital on the most distant colony, one sympathetic to the old soldiers of Treize. Ember did not know how Zechs got here. "I'm sorry. So many people were brought in after that battle that I didn't have time to keep track of all the ships. I think it was a Sweeper. I'll ask around." Zechs decided it was Howard's ship. Hearing it was a Sweeper brought a measure of relief. Even if Howard was not involved, the captain might mention it to him. Howard might tell Noin. Zechs knew she spent time on that ship. If she knew he was alive…

"Is there anyone I can call for you?" Ember asked again. She asked the same thing yesterday and Zechs said no. Lucrezia was not supposed to see him like this. It was far too early to say he was reborn.

* * *

><p><em>Fall<em>

Ember was angry at the prince and told him so. "You should want to fight to get better. Don't you realize how close to death you were?" She listed again all the things they fixed: heart, lungs, hands, feet, broken legs, broken arms…he was lucky it was only that! "You ought to be dead. Why can't you see that?"

"I would rather be dead," the prince said softly.

"That's not good enough," Ember snapped. "Isn't there someone who misses you?"

"No…"

"You have a little sister. What about her?"

"She hardly knows me. I made certain of that. She is better off without me."

Ember rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt it. What about the new Princess of Sanc? You asked about her specifically. Why?"

The prince smiled and looked away. For some reason, his eyes hurt. He looked at the colony sky outside his window.

Ember took his silence as confirmation of her suspicions. "Tell me."

"It is not appropriate for a person like me to discuss such things."

"Wha…?" Ember stared at him as if he'd grown wings. "What kind of person are you?"

"A dead person," he explained, still looking out, "a person who is not worthy of love…"

* * *

><p>"Why won't you call her if you miss her so much?" Ember asked one evening.<p>

Zechs did not answer. Lucrezia was on the news with Une. He sat up in bed, a knee bent to provide a rest for his folded arms and then his chin, transfixed by the image of his princess on the screen. His pale gold hair fell around him in a near perfect circle. Ember lay sprawled in the window seat a few feet from him, charts and paperwork spread out around her in a not so perfect shape.

Noin and Une were debating the requirements of a peacetime society with a clueless network news reporter. Une was livid. Leaning forward in her chair, she traded verbal assaults with the reporter; typical Une. She wanted an apology for the reporter's last remark about Treize. An image of the late leader of OZ flashed on the screen.

"As if anyone needs a visual aid," Ember commented.

The reporter gave up on Une and looked at Lucrezia. Zechs could not take his eyes off her, even for the fun of watching Une come unglued on international television. Lucrezia looked so…beautiful in pale blue. He was used to seeing her in that uniform. It was simply _fascinating_. When was the last time he saw her with earrings and makeup? Not his soldier-girl…not his Noin.

She smiled, feigning interest. Zechs could easily tell she was bored out of her mind. She tucked back some black hair, agreed with Lady Une, and pointed out a flaw in the reporter's reasoning that neatly silenced him. Smart Noin…

The reporter stared at her a moment and switched targets. "Miss Noin, you have served as Princess Regent of the Sanc Kingdom since early this year. Why do you persist in this when even Princess Relena takes little interest in her homeland?"

"Forgive me, but Princess Relena is very interested in Sanc. Her duties as Vice Foreign Minister keep her busy."

"Is it true you believe Milliard Peacecraft is still alive?"

"Prince Milliard Peacecraft," she corrected. "And you know as well as I do that Epyon was never recovered."

"Disintegrated, perhaps…?"

"Perhaps…" Lucrezia lifted her chin in her best proud smile. "Yes, it is possible, but I find it difficult to believe."

Zechs smiled at the screen. How like her to hold out hope even when the situation called for none at all. Ember snickered from the window and made kissy faces at him. Zechs continued to ignore her. He found it was the only way to contend with the doctor sometimes. For example, he had not invited her to stay; she just showed up in his room after dinner with her paperwork and appropriated the window seat for an office. Since it was her hospital, it was rather difficult to ask her to leave. Why she persisted in hanging around him was confusing. Not only that, Ember did not seem to care who he was. No matter how angry he got, she shrugged it off. Rhodri tried to help by distracting her elsewhere; she had other patients. Ember said Zechs was the worst patient she ever had.

"You didn't answer my question," she said when the interview was over. "Why don't you call her?"

"It would be inappropriate at this time."

"What the heck does that mean?"

"Has it occurred to you I don't want to answer? This is not the first time you brought it up."

"That's because you go all fuzzy and swoon whenever her name comes up."

Zechs had no idea what to do with that supposed observation, although she wasn't the first person to point that out. Treize used to tease him mercilessly. "Ember, that is not true."

"Do you write her love poems? I've seen you scribbling in that little notebook at night."

"Ember...!"

"Look, all I am saying is, if I was lost someplace away from Rhodri, I would do anything to let him know I was all right."

Zechs sighed. She was never going to give it up. Since Ember and Rhodri were his only visitors, he would probably be hearing about it until the day he walked out of here. "Ember, it is very simple. Why should I call her to my side only to sit and watch you complain about my progress? Relena needs her. Une needs her, too… Lucrezia has so much more to lose than I do. Even if I did, it would be right for her to refuse to come..."

"That's sweet, Zechs…and such crap."

There was no elegant reply to that, so he merely regarded her disapprovingly. Ember crossed her eyes at him before stating. "The problem with you is OZ."

"What do you know about OZ?" he snapped.

"I know all about OZ. I told you we were flight surgeons."

"Yes…wait, you mean, with OZ?"

"I thought you were supposed to be quick."

"I…had no idea. You don't act like it."

"How am I supposed to be?"

"To begin with, you would not ask so many personal questions."

Ember snickered. "Yeah, well, the problem is I'm a mobile suit pilot and a doctor. The doctor doesn't always get along with the elegant soldier. Doctors have to ask the hard questions."

"So what is the problem with OZ?"

"The whole elegant soldier thing," she explained. "Courtly love, pretty manners, hiding your heart in favor of presenting a certain image, not to mention those sadistic boots and the saber getting in my way when I tried to treat patients… You knew Treize pretty well, right? What was he thinking?"

A phenomenally loaded question… "Well, I…"

"I mean, it took me forty minutes and three extra people to help just to get dressed in the morning."

Zechs caught himself smiling sympathetically. "I could never get the ascot straight," he admitted and before thinking added, "Noin could."

Ember smiled back at him. "See, you think about her constantly."

"Weren't we talking about uniforms?"

"We were talking about OZ."

"Treize wanted us to be different from the Alliance…from anything that came before."

"Right…so we had to wear our band uniforms to work and never say what we mean."

"Ember…" Zechs looked away from her and back at the screen. Now they were talking about the latest fashions in Europe. Apparently, Relena was quite the trend setter. Ridiculous, considering what his little sister had gone through, that the ESUN insisted on discussing her choice of hair style. He scratched the back of his neck, feeling the weight of his blonde mane. They used to say that about him, how daring he was to look the way he did. How little they knew.

"Ember, if you knew there was a dangerous thing only you could do, would you want Rhodri near you?"

"Of course I wouldn't want him with me. I understand why you did what you did then. What I don't get is what you are doing now." She got up and collected her charts. "I'd at least want to know where Rhodri was. If you were the one waiting on Earth, knowing she was lost, what would you want her to do?"

"I guess I would trust her to do what was best. I always have." Zechs said even as his new heart gave a painful wrench at the thought of Lucrezia disappearing. Ember was using his role reversal tactic against him. If he were on Earth and Lucrezia missing in space and presumed dead, what would keep him from searching day and night for her?

"Ember, I can't explain it to you," he said softly. "This is mine. Everything from before was…a disguise I made up to get close to the people that mattered at the time. It wasn't really me. Allowing her into my life would have been a disaster. My enemies would not hesitate to press such an advantage. I can do even worse. Simple association with me was dangerous

"I have very little of my own except her. The last thing I ever wanted was for Lucrezia to be hurt by what I did or for her to become any more like me than she already has. If I lost her or caused her harm, it would destroy what is left of me. I don't expect you to understand."

The surgeon stopped moving and knelt in the middle of the spilled charts, her dark caramel curls falling across her face. "You wish to protect the ones you love. I would expect nothing less from you. Still," Ember tipped her chin up and smiled. "I will continue to ask you to think about this: it is her choice, too." Then she finished gathering her things as if nothing had happened. She stood and walked over to check the monitors by his bed. "Still alive," the doctor mused. "You might consider investing in some of the perks of the life I so generously restored to you. Even princes and martyrs can fall in love…and for all intents and purposes, you have a brand new heart."

With that, she bid him good night and trotted out, off to finish her rounds and meet Rhodri.

Zechs found he missed her. Ember held back the silence, the loneliness of his current existence.

New heart… The prince examined the healing scar on his chest, never dreaming he'd be so touched by such a trite metaphor. Even so, things were not stable, not yet. He'd been a soldier too long to accept that total peace was possible in under a year.

Frowning, he picked up the remote and replayed the interview, this time listening a little more closely to what was said. Une was worried about security. The ESUN granted her limited funding for "preventative measures," whatever that was. When one listened to what was not said, it was obvious Lucrezia and Une were protective of that fragile peace and willing to do what was needed to keep it, no matter how unpopular it was. How could he help them if he was trapped in a hospital bed? In addition to the heart transplant, Epyon gifted him with compound fractures in both legs. Zechs contemplated the left one, peeking from under the blanket. The blue casts were gone and it was as scarred as his arms. The scars would fade, but he was more concerned with how much muscle he'd lost in the past months. He was not allowed in the weight room yet; Ember was afraid he would push too hard. Zechs was afraid he was not pushing his recovery hard enough.

Zechs decided to ask her again. He needed to heal, to be himself again or else sit back and watch Lucrezia fight his battle for him, an unacceptable option. Until he knew for certain that the peace he died for had a strong hold, he could not want something for himself. Even so, he raised the remote and pushed a button, freezing Lucrezia's image on the screen. Restless, he arranged the stack of pillows so he could still see her face when lying down. For a long time he watched her, considering, until he fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>Winter<em>

"You're kidding, right?" Ember said. She and Rhodri stared at the image on the screen, a high resolution shot of the Martian surface taken by a telescope in high Earth orbit.

"It is one of three telescopes left undamaged by the Christmas Eve engagement. Amazing that it survived…"

"Yeah, amazing that it survived you, featherhead." Ember snorted. "Okay, I'll bite. Why the sudden interest in astronomy? I'd like my medical library back."

"You said I could do some research," Zechs said with a touch of righteous annoyance. It used to work on Treize. Ember only blinked at him.

"A little bit of research, fine. You've been in here for weeks."

"And where precisely am I supposed to go? You won't let me do anything."

"True," Ember admitted. "I am a controlling bitch," she flopped into a chair and gave the prince her full attention. "All right, what's the big surprise?"

"Relena has secured a contract with Fell Evershade Biomed to terraform Mars," Zechs announced proudly in his best addressing-the-troops voice.

Rhodri nodded. "I've heard rumors. Last time I tried to get some oxygen canisters from them they were back ordered. Of course, nothing is official yet."

"There are twenty seven people on the planet right now," Zechs said, pulling up a new screen filled with painstakingly compiled statistics on the project. "They are primarily scientists and experts in Space Colony life support. The one settlement is called Starfall Village. It has its own environmentally stable biodome and that's about it. They are going to be looking for help soon. And as it happens, they have no medical staff."

"Well, that's going to suck for them."

"That is very inappropriate language for a soldier of Treize, Ember." Zechs corrected her anyway, even though she never responded favorably to his suggestions. Usually she ignored him.

"That's good. I'd hate to disappoint him halfway. Now, I assume you have a reason for telling us this."

"Yes. I would like to be part of this project. I would like you and Rhodri to be that medical staff."

Ember giggled. "You're funny. You sound like you've made up your mind."

"I have," Zechs ignored her laughter and studied the screen. "I'm serious. This is very important to Relena. I think I can help her. I have a...rather great idea."

"Zechs…" Ember glanced at Rhodri, who was looking thoughtfully at the list. "Oh, no…you are not thinking about this."

"What is your idea?" Rhodri said curiously.

Zechs had to smile, but he hid it by looking at the computer. In all honesty, he was nervous. It wasn't a feeling he was accustomed to. Most things came easily, but up until now, there was an ultimate goal. With the war over, he was obsolete, a relic of the past, skilled in tasks no longer needed except for one. He knew how to lead. And this could be a new goal, a new life on a new world. And finally, it was a way to make it all up to Noin.

"I'm going to build a deep space telescope on Mars because her favorite thing is outer space…"

The doctors were quiet. Not that he expected any cheering, but he hoped for more than that. It sounded exciting enough to him after weeks of research into the Mars project, Fell Evershade, deep space telescopes, radio telescopes, orbiting telescopes, and the still completely theoretical process of terraforming a world. It was the idea of creating instead of destroying for once that kept him digging into ESUN records.

The search started because of the interview; Zechs wanted to know what Noin and Une were up to. He learned that easily enough—the "Preventers" were designated former soldiers with no official title, just a mandate from the ESUN to keep the peace. They were free to use whatever methods they liked. Relena had not thrown her full support behind it, yet. It was understandably difficult for her to completely trust Une.

Instead, Relena took her foster father's place as Foreign Minister and began to travel, personally securing promises of unity from the Colonies. She had appointed Lucrezia Princess Regent of Sanc in her place. Relena and Lucrezia were separately promoting the Mars project as a unifier for the healing Earth Sphere. The problems lay in the expense and remoteness of the project, but the instant Zechs read about it, the perfect solution presented itself and all he needed to do after that was decide how to implement it.

Rhodri was reading over his shoulder. "I dunno, Em, it's a promising thought. Less light pollution, ultra-remote, less noise. With all the activity in the Earth Sphere we haven't gotten any good shots of anything in a while. That location would give us a new perspective and plenty of room to work…"

"You're right." Ember stated.

"Yes, I am," Rhodri and Zechs said together. They both looked away from the screen and back at the doctor. Her expression was nearly unreadable, brows knit, and a lock of hair knotted between her fingers.

It really didn't matter if she said yes or not. Zechs was doing it anyway. If she said no, he could find another doctor. It didn't change the fact he wanted her to accept.

Ember got up and approached the screen, still blank. "Well…" she said at length, "What do we need? We're going to have to make a list."

* * *

><p><em>Christmas Week<em>

Ember shook him awake in the very early hours of the day before Christmas.

Complaining, he struggled to sit up, blinking in the harsh light from the hospital corridor behind her. She wore a tee shirt and sweats; something roused her early, too.

"Get up, Zechs. Hurry…"

"What is it?" The tension in her voice woke him the rest of the way. A soldier's training came rushing back. He was on his feet and following her before he thought to ask why they were up in the middle of the night.

She took him to the waiting room at the end of the hall where Rhodri stood, arms folded over his green scrubs, staring intently at the television. Ember turned it up. The reporter was summarizing his story. The prince had to listen closely because what he was saying made absolutely no sense.

"To recap this evening's events, Vice-Foreign Minister Relena Darlian has disappeared on a routine visit to Colony X-18999. No word on any violence, but Colony officials assured the ESUN this morning that every effort is being made to find her. The government has launched an official search and a statement issued by the Princess of Sanc's office declares Her Royal Highness the Princess Regent will devote any resources necessary to locate Miss Darlian."

"She is telling me not to worry," the prince said. Ember and Rhodri looked up at him, expectantly.

Zechs Merquise looked back and said, "I have to go." It was too soon, his chest hurt terribly from the fast wake up and the rush to the office, and he was still favoring his right leg which he was going to need to drive a mobile suit, but…it was what it was.

Rhodri only nodded. He got it, but Ember's reaction was loud and furious. "No. No way are you going anywhere…! You have weeks left before I can say with any certainty you won't have another heart attack. No… I am not releasing you."

"Rhodri…?"

"I will arrange for a shuttle."

Ember turned on him. "Rhodri, no…!"

"Ember, be reasonable. It's his sister. He can make the trip and you know it."

"I don't know that. He could have another heart attack, he could…"

"I am right here," Zechs reminded them.

Rhodri nodded once, firmly. "It is not up to us, Ember. I will get a shuttle ready."

She took a deep breath. Zechs knew she was about to let him have it. Rhodri only blinked at her. Ember shut her eyes, cursing under her breath. "I know. I've let pilots go with worse. Come on, Zechs. You win, you're right. She's your sister. We'll see if we can keep you on your feet."

Had the prince any possessions to pack, he'd have left them. As it was, beyond his notes about Mars, he had not acquired anything during his hospital stay save the heart. Street clothes were borrowed from Rhodri and a flight suit acquired from colony stores. Rhodri had a personal shuttle reserved at all times for transporting patients, but his usual pilot was on leave. "I called him. ETA is an hour…" Rhodri explained while Ember loaded a first-aid bag with medicine and—to Zechs's slight unsettlement—a portable defibrillator.

"The instructions are on the lid," she showed him the box before stowing it. "I have a week's supply of all your meds here. You will need to remember to refill them. The instructions are inside…do not forget this. You will be taking some of these for the rest of your life. How long that is depends on you taking them."

"I know," Zechs began, but Ember cut him off.

"If you want a long life with your princess, you will take them. Don't forget about it the minute you are back out there!"

"I will take them," he promised. He took the bag from her. She let go of it without complaint, but she wouldn't look at him. After a whole year fighting for his life, it must be torture for her to let him go risk it in the same way again. There was no choice. She was a flight surgeon and must be accustomed to it.

"Forget about the pilot," Zechs turned his attention to Rhodri to give Ember some time to collect herself. "I can fly."

"It's a newer model…" Rhodri trailed off as he remembered who he was talking to.

Ember trailed them out to the landing bay, staffed with hospital vehicles and the one small private shuttle. A few people stared; no one stopped them. It was busier than Zechs expected it to be at this hour, meaning that the colony was on alert, meaning it was increasingly important he hurry.

He tossed the first-aid kit and the rucksack containing a change of clothes and his books into the back of the shuttle. It was a small, fast vehicle, perfect for emergencies. Rhodri gave him the clearance codes to get out of the bay and stepped back. Ember grabbed his hand, yanked him half out of the pilot's chair as he was climbing in. "What?" he said with more force than he wanted. The clock was running. Now that he was going home—back to her—waiting for anything was almost impossible.

Ember met his eyes. "You have a new heart. Make good choices." She hugged him with one arm around his neck and let him go, adding, "We'll see you on Mars."

* * *

><p><em>Mars<br>_Starfall Village  
>Day 10<p>

"What is this? Triplicate Form for Acquisition of Vegetation and Live Animal Product; v2.3…" Lucrezia slid the page across the table. "Is this for supplies or actual animals?"

Zechs scanned the form. "I…I don't know. I didn't know the Colonies had this much paperwork."

"There are animals in Hydro. Wait, I have it: Ark Transport. They handle live animals. That must be a supply order."

"A company called Ark Transport exists?"

"You have to admit it is an adorable name." Lucrezia smiled and continued sorting through the stacks of forms in front of her. Now and then she pushed her hair back or played with one of her silver earrings. Earrings were forbidden with dress uniform. On Mars, she was allowed to wear what she wanted. It was cute how she still incorporated military elements —was that intentional? Tonight's aquamarine halter top was civilian and pretty with black cargo pants. Her boots had been discarded just inside the door as soon as they arrived at the office. It was pretty because it was her—because the Noin he knew was a soldier.

"What?" Violet eyes met his through her long bangs. She slid the hair back and demanded, "You're staring instead of working."

It was difficult to work at the moment; he kept stopping to look around in wonder. Just a little over a year ago, he believed he would die with Epyon, burn with Libra high above Earth and now …all was quiet. It was late evening and he was safe with Noin in the large room in Admin that Kieran suggested for the Village office. It overlooked the entire Village and the landing field. He could see shuttles on descent from his chair. Lights burned in apartment windows below. Their own window was dark to save energy, but…the point was one of those Village windows belonged to him and Noin.

The square was empty save for the ever-present ashes of the campfire and their reassuring glow. Every day the atmosphere became a bit more hospitable; soon he could go outside and look up at a sky full of stars. Light pollution was going to be minimal no matter how big the colony became. It was one of his goals that no one on Mars would have to struggle to find a perfect view of the night sky.

Their office was big enough for an OZ officers' meeting and instead of desks, they had a conference table. It came with the room. Kylie, the quartermaster, said the table arrived with a shipment of office furniture via Relena. It was an immense round table with images of castles and knights carved into the wooden legs. The top was polished red marble. They did not have matching chairs, so Zechs and Noin salvaged a few from their shuttle and Kieran provided the rest from his office across the hall. Now the entire colony leadership could meet here. The symbolism was not lost on either of them—both read King Arthur stories when they were young. After a week, Lucrezia was still snickering over King Zechs and his Round Table. He was determined that was where the Arthurian symbolism was going to end—no one was destroying this "kingdom," but he secretly liked the table as much as she did.

"You are still staring," she observed, fingers tapping on the stack of mystery forms.

"I was just thinking this is nice. It's what normal people do."

"Sort paperwork for a Martian terra colony while pondering live animals delivered to deep space?"

"It is normal for us. Allow me to clarify. This reminds me of studying with you at Lake Victoria."

Lucrezia giggled. "If that is true, then you are too far away," she remarked, reminding him how most of those study sessions got seriously off topic.

Zechs was about to slide over and recreate one for her when Kieran arrived, trailing ever-present surface dust and carrying an armful of radios. Maybe it was time to rethink the Open Door Policy for the Village Office. "Here you go," he dropped one in front of each of them. "Dave has communications up and running so the new rule is no one goes anywhere without one of these. Push to talk," he added, demonstrating.

"Low tech," Lucrezia observed.

"It's the best we can manage right now. All of our funding is going to the atmosphere project. Don't worry—they work very well."

"Things will change when we get the astronomy project going," Zechs promised.

"Well, would you settle for your doctors? These two rode in on the last shuttle and they about took my head off over the state of our hospital."

"We don't have a hospital, we have a room where we keep the first-aid kit," Zechs began and then Kieran's words sunk in. "Wait, doctors? My doctors…?"

Ember Lee Sunwing danced into the office then, looking entirely too wide-awake for someone just off the shuttle. Rhodri came after her and he did look tired, but he smiled as soon as he saw Zechs. "Hey…you look good!" he said and some of the exhaustion left his face. "You look better!"

"Of course he does—he's following all of our advice, right?" Ember said cheerily. Still, she slipped immediately to his side and wrapped her hand about his wrist, counting heartbeats.

"Yes," Zechs said quickly, as Kieran looked confused. This was not the time for explanations. Zechs held out his hand to Lucrezia, who quietly stood up when Ember and Rhodri appeared. She took his hand. "Ember and Rhodri, this is Lucrezia Noin…"

"Princess…!" Ember laughed. "You're here! I knew you'd be here! I'm Ember Lee Sunwing and this is my husband Rhodri. We've heard so much about you."

"I am honored to meet you," Lucrezia replied formally, eyes shining.

"The honor is ours. Some patients are a bit more difficult than others. This one may not have come back if not for you." Ember winked at Zechs. She let go of his arm just as Lucrezia surprised them both by throwing her arms around the startled doctor.

"Thank you…! Thank you so much…!" she said. Zechs was the only one to notice the tremble in her voice.

Ember returned the hug. "You're welcome," she whispered, smiling at her patient over Lucrezia's shoulder.

"So," Rhodri said, "What's this about your hospital being only a first aid kit…?"

* * *

><p>"I like them," Lucrezia said a bit later, she and Zechs returned to their apartment. She was curled up on her sleeping bag, chin resting on her knees, and wearing her favorite sleeping gear of boy shorts and a Lake Victoria t-shirt. "Ember talks a lot."<p>

"You have no idea until you are trapped in a hospital room with her." Zechs agreed. He was across the room at the bathroom sink, also dressed for bed in a t-shirt and pajama pants, going through the nightly ritual of heart medications. There were so many it was tough keeping track.

"I'm glad they are here. What if you could not get those? We are so far from even the nearest Colony." She did not like to talk about the number of drugs he took, so it was startling for her to ask.

"I brought enough," he reassured her again. He explained it all the first time she saw the pile of bottles on the counter. The last thing he wanted was for her to be scared. "I brought six months' supply from Earth. Ember and Rhodri can make these here, now."

"What if they can't get the right supplies?" she fretted, twisting a corner of the sleeping bag in her hands.

"They will get them. They will go back to the Colonies for them if they have to. They came to take care of everyone on Mars, so don't worry." When Lucrezia did not reply, he sighed. He took the last handful of—well, they were blue and they were supposed to help the scars fade—and crossed the room to sit beside her. He pulled her against him and rested his head against hers, his silver bangs mixing with her raven locks.

"If anything bad happens, remember that I assigned them an apartment close to us. Ember was the one who did the heart transplant and she knows everything about it. I promise it will be all right."

"You can't promise that," she objected, too smart to accept false comfort.

"Will you at least let me promise that I will follow all of her orders until I am back to the way I was before?"

Lucrezia turned her head to favor him with a trace of a smile. "I like you this way, too," she announced. She hugged him tight, pushing him back onto the pillow. She rested her head on his chest and listened. He caught her this way sometimes, pretending to sleep when she was actually listening to his heart. And he realized that Lucrezia, the same brave princess that flew a giant robot into battle without a hint of fear, defeated the dragon Epyon and kept all his secrets through years of war, was afraid of the space between heartbeats.

"Listen," Zechs said, gently moving her so she had to look at him. It was important. "You said you waited all this time—so did I. The entire time I was in that hospital, I waited for the chance to see you. Even in my dreams, I thought about nothing else…except perhaps building you a colony where you can live among the stars. I'm not doing anything to damage that—I've caused you enough pain—so I promise to be careful. And to show you how serious I am if you think I'm not taking care of myself to your satisfaction, you have my permission to tell on me."

"Really…?"

"I will always want you to watch over me." That earned him a smile, followed immediately with a kiss, and then a longer kiss—the kind that used to put an end to those late-night study hours at Victoria. He slid his hands under her t-shirt, over her soft skin; felt her heart beat with his through the thin cotton…until she pulled back, her hands flat on his chest.

"Your heart is racing!" she said.

"That happens when you kiss me," he replied.

"Zechs…!" she hesitated, but she did not move her hands.

He reached over, picked up one of the now-mandatory little radios that stood next to their makeshift bed, and held it in front of her. "You can call her," he reminded her, struggling to keep his voice steady. The choice must be hers. It was not all right for her to be scared.

Lucrezia eyed the radio for a moment. She looked from it to Zechs and back. He waited, hardly breathing at all, until she took it from him and set it back in its place next to the big flashlight that served as a lamp.

"Why didn't you send for me last year?" she asked without recrimination. She only wanted to know. He expected this question would come eventually.

"I did not want to scare you. There was nothing for you to do—I was asleep for most of it. And, most important, Relena needed you. If I called you to me, she would be alone. I thought it best for you to be near her. It was easier for me to rest knowing you were together and safe."

"Easier for you, but for me…I was so lonely. We were both so alone. Heero disappeared, same as you." She turned off the flashlight and cuddled against him as if seeking shelter. "You have to tell me if you are in trouble. I understand why you did not call, but…I'm not going to count the days between times I see you anymore."

He kissed her forehead. "There will be no days to count. If I must be gone for another year or two days, you will go with me."

"No more asking if I'm sure that I want to?"

"No. You came this far. I believe you are the first girl in history to go all the way to Mars for someone she loved. I…cannot seem to find a successful argument to that."

"Is that all I had to do?" he felt her body shake with laughter. "Go to Mars? You really can't make it easy, can you Zechs?"

"I guess not. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'd go all the way to Jupiter if that is what it takes."

"What about Saturn?"

"Nope—Jupiter is my limit and Neptune is right out." That was most definitely a tease. He knew her. Lucrezia would follow him to the final star.

"That is fortunate because it turns out that Mars is in fact the correct answer. You win. And…" he kissed her again, "That is the only battle I'm prepared to surrender—ever. You'd better appreciate it."

Lucrezia's reply was a kiss that made his heart race again—only this time she did not shy away. And very shortly he was far too distracted to worry about the space between breaths.

* * *

><p>AN: On titles: For the purposes of my story, Lucrezia's original noble title is Duchess of Rome. I just decided I wanted her to be a duchess. It has something to do with Treize. ^^<p>

On tech: It is tough to discern the level of technology in this world. Given that they have successful space colonies and…giant robots, I imagine they have a way of getting to Mars in a reasonable amount of time. I set it at two-three weeks, depending on the mode of transportation.

Thank you to everyone who has read and /or reviewed Starfall! +1 to all your die rolls! ^^

That disclaimer thing I always forget: I do not own Gundam Wing, Zechs, Noin, Treize, Lady Une, Relena, Tallgeese, or Mars. ^^ Ember, Rhodri, Kieran and the Starfall crew, however, ran rampant through the story and that's totally my fault.


	5. Same Friends, New Sky

AN: AHHHHHH! I had to work late. I'm amending my update schedule to the following: Wednesday nights between 7PM and 12AM MST.

Same Friends, New Sky

Mars

Day 30

Lucrezia looked up. "This is our waltz," she said, surprised. Someone on the terra crew was playing music in the field and left the channel open for the benefit of everyone on the team. The princess stepped away from the bulkhead she was leaning on to listen. Zechs listened, too, and with a smile, offered her his hand.

They were alone in a small shuttle, high above the planet surface, waiting to dock with the Astronomy Team's massive deep space Colony transport ship. They had time to kill so she took his hand and her feet immediately found the familiar steps of the waltz, drilled into them like military maneuvers since they were children. The shuttle was small, but there was room for two to dance.

Once upon a time—it felt like another person's life—she danced with Zechs to this music in a glittering silver gown. Today she wore the official uniform of the Fell Evershade Mars Terra Team—red and black coat over a fitted red shirt, and black cargo pants tucked into heavy, tall black boots. The boots kept the red dust at bay and her feet from being very light as they danced. He was similarly dressed.

"Who plays waltzes here?" Zechs asked in wonder as he spun her across the dance floor—or in this case, cargo bay.

"I wish I knew." If she found out, Lucrezia would ask for more, if they made his eyes light up like that.

One month on Mars and no talk of revenge or guilt or anyone's hands being stained with any amount of blood, unless she counted the time he cut his finger opening a shipping container. That was handled with antibiotics and a kiss as opposed to an elaborate military campaign. One month on Mars and the most dangerous altercation between Zechs and anyone was conflicting taste in music at the weekly campfire.

One month and every day she woke up to find him beside her. It was the longest they'd been together since he swept her up from Lake Victoria to help him fight the Gundams. One month and she did not know the number of days. It was peaceful, not needing to count. He used to ask her to count, to keep her from worrying that he wouldn't be back when he promised he would be.

The shuttle shuddered and Lucrezia felt the craft speed up. Zechs did not miss a step in the waltz, not even when the airlock hissed and the cargo bay doors opened to reveal a bemused Toya peeking in at them. "What is this? Dance lessons…?"

"Commander Kiri…" Zechs greeted him over Lucrezia's shoulder as he guided her to a stop; she twisted around in his arms to see if the voice really belonged to who she hoped it did, which was silly because of course it was.

"Hi Toya…!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, Swiftlet…!" Toya hopped through the door and came over to give her a quick, polite hug which was a bit awkward since Zechs was still holding her. She returned it, glancing at Zechs in her peripheral to see if he was looming. After a little misunderstanding with one of the terra crew over who was involved with what princess on an exclusive basis, Zechs had taken to indulging his overprotective side which included looming. There was no better word. Toya was an old friend and ought to be exempt, but everything the Lightning Count did was for a reason. Sometimes he hovered just to prove that he could hover.

"Stop that," Toya noticed. "I'll give her back."

"You can't have her," Zechs replied.

Lucrezia knew better than to get into it. Noble boys tended to be possessive and she had worked with enough of them to know. "Did you have a good trip?" she asked instead, moving things along to business.

"It was long and now it is over. Everyone is dying to see Mars. Where is it?"

"I see your astronomy degree is paying off. Get your people on board and we'll take you down," Lucrezia smiled, just as excited.

Toya brought with him the first pieces of the first telescope and an astronomy team to put it together. The transport ship they arrived on was designed to stay in orbit as a staging area for big equipment, including the telescope and Kieran's ocean generators. Today was the last quiet day in Starfall. Over a hundred new scientists, terra crew members, and assorted support staff were on this transport. The project was officially underway as of this morning.

It took about an hour to sort personal gear from colony supplies and get everyone a chair on this shuttle or the next. Lucrezia and Zechs were going to spend most of this day and the next few at this task which meant about a week of flying for fun instead of combat or practice for combat or picking up the pieces after combat. It didn't even matter that it was all boring supply runs when it was gathering supplies for their own colony.

Toya rode up front with the pilots. "Nice shuttle," he commented as Lucrezia and Zechs got ready to leave.

"Fell Evershade Biomed designed them specifically for the Mars project. We have three. Guess what Zechs did when he saw them."

"I bet he tore apart the engines and rebuilt them to be faster while sacrificing safety and common sense."

"You win," she grinned. It went without saying that she helped Zechs do it.

"I did not sacrifice safety," he growled. "And a pilot who can't fly without automatic settings is no pilot."

Lucrezia called down to Starfall, alerting the landing field to their arrival. "Hold on to something," she advised. Toya grabbed for something to hold onto as she rocketed away from the transport ship. Zechs wasn't the only one who was fast or precocious. Mars rose up before her, a red gold fireball in the morning sun. Lucrezia knew this route perfectly, so speed wasn't a problem, and her skill was such that the science team was not subject to a single jolt.

"Do they still call you Swiftlet?" Toya said, pretending to clutch his chair in dismay at their rate of descent.

"They could."

"I might. Damn, Lucrezia, you've been hanging around Zechs too long."

"Not nearly long enough," she shot her prince a smile. Part of her heart still wondered if he'd be there or not when she looked for him. It used to be torture, waiting…a desperate sort of emptiness. The memory of isolation still rose up to scare her in the split second before her mind registered that he was right next to her where he was supposed to be.

Zechs smiled at her, blue eyes calm beneath the tousled bangs. With all the anger and pain stripped away now everyone could see what she always had—her young, golden, beautiful, possible king. Zechs could still be king. She knew the Sanc Kingdom's laws by heart. The hope did not elude her battle sense—it was nice to put that gift to use on a bright future. He looked like a king—tall and confident and slightly mischievous…unforgivably handsome…hers.

"They miss you at home." Toya interrupted her pondering, but not the view.

"Who misses me?" she kept staring at Zechs. Zechs stared back with that slightly vain smile he picked up from Treize.

Toya laughed. "Only the entire Sanc Kingdom… You were gaining quite a following when you vanished. President Milan has had a tough time explaining."

Lucrezia instantly dropped her gaze, focused on the console and hid her burning face beneath her long bangs. It was a little embarrassing to be discussed this way in front of the rightful king.

"Of course she was popular." She felt Zechs's fingertips on her temple. He brushed away her hair, effectively unmasking her. "Lucrezia has always been an exceptional leader."

"Precisely why they want her back," Toya continued.

"Well," Zechs said in his silkiest tone, "if she wanted to go…"

"I stay with you."

"She stays with me." The smug certainty in his voice made her heart leap. Her year in the Sanc Kingdom had been bittersweet; she loved it there, but now she lived with Zechs on Mars. This was where she was supposed to be.

* * *

><p>Earth<p>

AC196

Sanc Kingdom

The solar at Elysium palace was nothing like her playground in the sky. A bird should not be ground bound for so long. Wistfully, Lucrezia gazed out the massive windows that made up the room's fourth wall. She had a perfect view of the bay with its crystal blue water and white sand beach. Beyond that was the harbor, crawling with ships and construction mobile suits making repairs to the docks. If she had her way, she would be on that beach in the sun and the wind.

Instead, she sat inside on a gilded throne in this massive room with its ornate furnishings and white marble floors, a crystal chandelier to catch the light, and a painting of the Peacecraft family on the wall above her carefully restored to its original brilliance. Painted before the occupation, it had been cleaned of all dirt and soot. A portrait of the last king, Zechs and Relena's father, hung on the wall across from her.

"What am I doing?" Lucrezia thought, staring at the king. "You don't know me. Would you even want me here?"

"Princess…?"

She blinked. Serena Milan stood in front of the new monarch, splendid in a simple white sleeveless dress, a twist of crystal beads around her neck. Serena was a mobile suit pilot from the Treize Faction, a native of Sanc, and ostracized by her pacifist family for going to war. It did not bother her. After the war ended, she came home and took up the responsibility of rebuilding her town. When Lucrezia arrived, she sought out people like Serena to help her organize the overall reconstruction of Sanc. She had a lot in common with the other mobile suit pilot. They became friends immediately and now they worked together.

"Princess, are you listening?"

"Please call me Lucrezia, Serena. I would like it if one person did."

The girl shook her head, brown curls swinging. Serena had very green eyes, like spring grass. Her soldiers called her Emerald. Like Lucrezia, she went to war young. They were the same age, twenty; their birthdays only five days apart.

"I won't call you that here," she said. "Princess Relena has entrusted you with her kingdom. Right now, you must be our Princess Regent first."

"I know," Lucrezia smiled sadly. "I am sorry."

Serena tapped her stylus against the tablet computer she held and shrugged. "You miss your friends. As do I…"

"I miss freedom and flying, too. Do you remember flying?"

"Yes. But you have to let others do that for you now."

"I know."

Serena looked up, fabulous green eyes laden with sympathy. "I heard they called you Swiftlet at school…and that you were faster than everyone else except our prince."

"Treize called me Swiftlet when I was little. He likes birds," Lucrezia explained. Serena was used to her talking about Treize Khushrenada as if he were still alive. It was too much for her to bear to speak of him in the past tense.

"Did you ever beat him, Prince Milliard? Even once…?"

"No."

"…Could you? I mean, if you wanted to…?"

"Yes."

Serena chuckled. "I think I would like to see that."

"Let me out so I can practice."

"No." Serena said firmly. "What would I tell Princess Relena if I lost you? Now, we have to choose songs for the ball tomorrow, but we should talk about the city first. Something needs to be done about the outlying roads…"

Lucrezia listened with half an ear. It was very difficult for her to speak of Zechs. She did anyway, for it was unavoidable here, but without him it was as if she was always asleep, pinioned, half of herself. With him, she could fly. Why beat him when she could fly beside him?

* * *

><p>Mars<p>

Day 30

The astronomers received a complex of empty buildings at the edge of the Village, but the telescope would eventually be built on the mountain above. For now, they moved into their new quarters with a small telescope that would be set up by the end of the week. Lucrezia set about helping Toya unpack it while Zechs headed back up to the transport. They had decided to meet Toya together and split up after that. With a shortage of pilots it didn't make sense to have them both on one shuttle when three were available.

Lucrezia was a little surprised at how much it hurt when Zechs left. It was the first day they had really been apart since arriving on Mars. Setting up the village was a project they worked on together. Probably there would be more days like this—that was normal. And they planned this a week ago… Still, she felt her throat close up when he kissed her. "I'll call. I'll meet you at the campfire," he promised. How could eight hours feel like eight years? And how dumb was she to be tearing up when he had left a million times before and for much longer to go do things that should have gotten him killed…?

"He'll be here this afternoon," she apologized to the astronomer. Toya was patient, waiting for her to help him get into the building. And of all people, Toya would get it.

"It's all right. Would you like to help?" he said, obvious about distracting her. Lucrezia appreciated it anyway.

She checked the time. "Yes. My shuttle is ready in half an hour."

"Good, then you can help me with the little telescopes. I remember you were good at it."

Lucrezia smiled and started after him up to the roof. "I liked it when we took them out to the plain and away from the airfield. The view was spectacular."

"We will have the same thing here. In fact, if you want, we can invite your terraformers over tonight to have a look. Is the dome opaque?"

"Yes. It is the end of the week, so we'll be cooking out this evening."

"Huh…?"

"It's a new tradition. Trust me you don't want to miss seeing Zechs use a fork to eat a cheeseburger."

"He does not."

"You _remember_ Zechs, don't you?"

"I roomed with him the entire time we were at LVA." Toya rolled his eyes in mock suffering. "Out of all the students there, I get the future Lightning Count and you got Jomi Starcrest, the only girl I could never work up the courage to ask out."

"You liked Jomi? I never knew that. You should have told me."

"Jomi liked you, I think. Everyone was either in love with you or His Excellency."

Lucrezia blushed. "I thought they loved Zechs and Treize, not me."

"I seem to remember you got love letters nearly every day from everyone from first years to seniors."

"Toya…"

"Boys and girls," Toya winked as he held open the door to the roof. "Admit it. You liked the attention."

"Yes, I did." Lucrezia confessed. How arrogant she had been. If anything, she was more of a princess at LVA than during her yearlong tenure as Sanc's regent. A popular student, breaking records in both academics and the flight school, studying military tactics and history beside the brilliant Treize Khushrenada, the irresistible romance of falling in love with Zechs Merquise, her only real rival for top student…it was understandable. Most girls her age in the Romefeller foundation were positioning themselves for marriage instead of command. They envied her close relationship with His Excellency and the lovely platinum-haired Lighting Count who ignored all of them yet favored Lucrezia. It was a desperate, intense time when war was glamorous. Was that person really part of her?

"I knew we would change the world. I thought we should own it, that it was our right. I was a horrible, devious little thing Toya. How could you even like me?"

"I saw you help the younger students with their homework. You never went out of your way to hurt anyone like some of those girls. Everyone knew they could come to you for help. You are loved because you are kind, Lucrezia. Why do you think Zechs looked at you and no one else? He said you calmed him down, that he was less likely to want to put his fist through a wall when you were there."

"Really…?" It was difficult to envision that, then. Zechs had told her that many times, but she didn't realize it went back that far. At first she spent time with Zechs because he was Treize's friend. What that eventually became was a surprise.

Considering, she watched Toya set up a telescope. Zechs and Toya each were tall and thin, long-limbed and graceful. Toya's short hair fell in raven curls against his neck and over his forehead and his skin shades darker than her prince's. The astronomer wore tees and baggy drawstring pants with whimsical island prints. Today his tee was blue and green lizards decorated his trousers. He wore sandals called flip flops that bared the tops of his feet. Around his neck, a circle of polished white shells gleamed against his tan. Toya was beautiful in an entirely different way than Treize and Zechs…or any of the Romefeller nobility for that matter. Of course he came from a powerful family or he would not have been at Victoria, but he possessed none of that calculating imperiousness so many of her fellow students exhibited.

Toya's whole life was stars…and battle planning. Like her, he had a gift for seeing the likely end of any combat scenario. During the war, he planned all kinds of battles as part of Treize's staff, but astronomy was what he really wanted to do. Of course, no one got to be what they really wanted then. Had she ever considered any other destiny apart from military officer? Toya, however, figured out how to carve out another life for himself—he convinced Treize he'd be better at planning space battles if he studied astronomy, too.

Lucrezia began moving telescope cases to the roof, her thoughts back at LVA. Treize introduced her to Zechs the day before school started. It seemed important to him that they get along, so she made an effort to reach the young prince that was largely ignored. For a time she forgot about him although they lived in the same dorm.

Her days were full of school and study, flight simulators and private lessons with Treize, running in the mornings and swimming at twilight. Sunday nights she went up to the dorm's roof with Toya and Jomi to see the African sky through one of Toya's numerous telescopes. And after a few such sessions, Zechs would be there, always a little apart from the others, reading a book or working on an assignment; never participating, yet totally present.

At first she ignored this after giving him an appropriate greeting. Yet it seemed whenever it was cold enough to need a blanket, he happened to have brought one. Another night, she slipped walking up the stairs; although he was at the opposite side of the roof, he caught her before Toya reached her. Several times he brought her favorite late night treat of key lime crème brulee for everyone. Much later she learned he bribed the cooks to make it for him. Treize may have tipped him off, yet Lucrezia suspected Zechs was paying attention.

Zechs rarely spoke and never looked through the telescopes. There were better places to do his homework than a dark roof with three talkative cadets. It made no sense…until she noticed he was always there during the day, maybe not right by her side yet close enough to get there if she chose. They started sitting together in class. As the new top students, it was viewed as appropriate. Young as they were that soon-to-be legendary potential began to manifest itself. Zechs and Noin became a single word.

She found herself looking after him in turn. Lucrezia discovered her power as part of a whole. Suddenly, she would be walking to class or deciding where to sit in the cafeteria and feel a possessive hand on her back, Zechs's hand, guiding her. They would never be overt, his gestures; he would not strip her of her dignity that way. And he could not protect anyone without risking his personal goals. It was simply how he did things, to lead those he cared for into sheltering places only he could reach.

"Hey Toya," she set the final case down near him and paused to rest. That was quite a few trips up the stairs even for someone in as good of shape as she was. "I know why you wanted to go up on the roof every night and it wasn't only about the telescopes. You said Zechs was into it, but he never looked up from his books. How did you figure it out before I did?"

"That Zechs liked you?" Toya emphasized the 'like' with a grin and air quotes. "Ha…"

"Please answer me," she switched to her Princess Voice.

"All right… You know how everyone liked to think there was some big mystery about Zechs? To me, he was just the guy in the next bunk—chosen by the computer to be my roommate. And most guys can figure out when their buddy likes the girl across the hall. Trust me, it wasn't that hard."

Lucrezia made a face. "That's not very helpful."

"How did you know?"

It was Toya, so she answered, "Zechs told me he loved me. Remember that ball he and I were invited to for being the top students? Treize sent me a silver dress? That was it. He just said it."

"No mystery there, huh…?" Toya put down the lens he'd been playing with and leaned on the edge of the rooftop and looked out at the Village, shining bright against the rocky red plain. "It is much more beautiful here than I thought, looking at the pictures. I came from a very beautiful place, Hawaii, remember? Hawaii was a monarchy, centuries ago. And they loved it when the monarchies came back in Europe. After Heero Yuy died and the Alliance started toppling them one by one, we were a safe haven for a lot of displaced nobility. Growing up, I had friends that felt like Zechs did only their parents hadn't declared a national policy of total peace and they didn't have any guilt feelings about picking up their guns.

"It wasn't hard for me to see where he was coming from, so there was no mystery. That helped me see what the rest of you couldn't because all you understood was honor and your duties as the young aristocracy. I swear half the reason Zechs was so initially into you was that you could fight without reservation, but you hated the war. The rest, well, you're hot."

She laughed and shook her head. Toya grinned back, "No, really. Now don't you have a shuttle launch to attend, Swiftlet?"

"Can we please let that nickname rest in peace?"

"Think about growing your hair out again. I liked it the way you had it at school with the ribbons."

She made a face. "You have no idea how long it takes to braid your hair with ribbons. I like it this way."

"Just think about it," Toya pressed. "Treize hated it when I wore flip flops. Now I wear them every day! It's over. We don't have to be like we were then."

"I'm glad Zechs asked you out to Mars. This will be more fun with you here."

Toya chuckled and turned back to the scope, tousling her hair in a brotherly fashion as she passed him on her way to the stairs. "I'll do my best."

* * *

><p>"Here is something I did not expect," Zechs said from her screen as she lifted off from the surface for her third and final trip of the day. As promised, he called as soon as she reached her shuttle and they had kept the channel open all afternoon. It was almost like he was in the next chair—almost.<p>

"A great number of the new colonists—I would say nearly half—are citizens of the Sanc Kingdom."

"Following their prince into space…?"

"No, I believe they are following their princess."

"Relena…?" she hedged, remembering this morning's conversation. She really did not want Zechs to think she tried to take his place in his absence.

Zechs smiled. "Relena, yes…and can you think of anyone else?"

"Zechs…"

"You, Princess," he said with visible pride.

"Zechs…I'm not really their princess. I only helped Relena a little bit…"

"I don't think you get to decide in this case," he laughed.

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" It was Zechs's turn to be confused. "I'm quite proud of you and happy they liked you. It makes a few things easier."

"What things?"

"Later, Princess—this isn't quite the right time to discuss it. I promise we will," he added.

"We won't discuss anything unless you stop calling me that. I was just starting to like hearing you say my first name."

Zechs gave her one of his deep stares. "As you wish, Lucrezia," he said in that dark lovely voice, still smiling. She had never liked her name until he spoke it.

"I find myself missing you today," she said without thinking. Inside she flinched. Not a very military thing to say, was it? She started to regret it, but Zechs did not take notice—at least, not in the way she expected him to.

"I miss you. We are nearly done with this. Will you get Toya and take him to the campfire? I may be delayed by a few minutes—the new colonists have so many questions."

Lucrezia stumbled through a reply and found it drowned out by the shock of hearing Zechs say he missed her. She increased her speed to the transport. The quicker she was done, the less time she had to wait to see him...

* * *

><p>Earth<p>

AC196

Brussels

"Well, that was fun," Noin said after she exited the studio with a pouting Lady Une. "Do you feel better now?"

Lady Une did not answer immediately. She went to the table where food and drinks were spread out for the crew and picked up a napkin, using it to dry her hands and dress. "I feel…vindicated," she replied as the reporter stormed off the set after them, picking rose petals from his hair and shouting he could not work under these conditions.

"_Who let those harpies in here?"_

"Harpies?" said Noin with a smile. "That's a new one."

Une threw the napkin away. "He is a fool. He deserved it."

Lucrezia had to agree. The interview felt like an assault from the start. Une responded the only way a mobile suit pilot could. She grabbed the vase of roses from the coffee table and threw it at the reporter. They had already stopped recording, so Une was saved from interstellar humiliation, but Lucrezia got a good laugh out of it. It was the first time in a while she actually felt like laughing at anything. Although she appreciated her opportunity to coordinate Sanc's restoration, being around someone from the past was exciting, even if it was Une. Their relationship was always tenuous; the princess was surprised when Une asked her to join this interview.

"I cannot believe he asked you those questions. I am sorry." Une sighed. She looked profoundly tired—a state of being Lucrezia fully empathized with. It was a long day already and she still had the flight home to Sanc.

"It's not like I didn't expect it. Don't feel bad. I'm used to it."

"How can you be? You live in his home, surrounding yourself day after day with his memory, and doing the job he was born to have. I can't imagine it."

"Certain things become easier when you are actually doing them and not thinking about it. Also, it helps that I am too busy to think."

Une slipped her an appraising glance. "Would you…consider becoming busier?" The way she said it, Lucrezia knew it was all downhill from there. Part of ensuring she was completely busy was never saying no. And she could not say no to an old…whatever Une was.

"The ESUN is approaching the current situation with too much idealism for my taste. I have acquired permission and funding to address the situation—via some select delegates who also believe we have too easily embraced the peace." Une chose a cookie from the desert table and nibbled at it. "Eat something. Pretend we are simply discussing the weather in the Sanc Kingdom."

"It is sunny. The birds are singing. Did you know the royal palace harbors the world's largest songbird sanctuary?"

"Fascinating…"

"I know. All right, so tell me. What is wrong with the current peace?"

"No one appreciates it yet. It hasn't been threatened since Libra. I'm waiting for the day that it will be and then the Earth Sphere is entirely unable to handle itself. You do know there are weapons remaining in the Sphere."

"Of course, I'm not that naïve."

"Never meant to imply that," Une said softly. "I merely wish to describe the situation. The point is I need your help. I need strong leaders from the past to focus the future."

"Une…I want to help, but what does this involve? I'm a…" she stumbled over the title, "Princess. I can't abandon Sanc. I promised Relena."

"I'll make every effort to limit your direct involvement, assuming you are worried about compromising some pacifist ideal. It's scarcely the first time a member of the Peacecraft family got involved."

"I'm not worried about that. For one thing, I'm not really a Peacecraft. I can do what I want. Secondly, Relena did not give me specific directions in that regard. I am free to rule as I see fit…" she scowled again, making Une laugh.

"Rule as you see fit…? Ha… You really don't like being a princess, do you? You look like you ate something bitter."

"Can we discuss something else? Anything else…? Sanc also has an amazing mountaintop observatory…"

Une dusted cookie crumbs from her fingers. "Of course, we can, Princess. You have only to say so."

"Now you're making fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you. I'm sorry if it bothers you. I'm happy Relena chose you for this. It does suit you, even if you don't see it for yourself."

"If you say so," Lucrezia began just as a uniformed security guard stepped between them.

"I am terribly sorry, Your Highness, but I'm going to have to ask your friend to leave," the guard said awkwardly. "They're, um, not too happy with you around here."

Une tossed her hair defiantly. "Fine… If they can't take a little retribution, I'll take my business elsewhere. Mark my words, though, the Earth Sphere has not seen its last violent attack!"

"Okay, well, I'll tell them that, ma'am, but in all honesty, I'm just a security guard at a television network and I don't think they'll care." He offered Lady Une his arm. To Lucrezia he handed a page torn from a script and a pen, "Could I bother you for an autograph? My kids love you."

"Oh…absolutely… Look, please don't be too hard on my friend. She's only trying to help."

"Like I said, I'm just a security guard, Highness. It's a real honor to meet you though. You too, Lady Une…and, um, I'm sorry… I have to toss you out of here now."

"Fools…" Une mumbled, allowing the guard to escort her away. "Lucrezia, I will be in touch! I really do need your help!" The studio doors closed behind them with a bang.

One week later, Lucrezia Noin added Preventer Fire to her list of titles.

* * *

><p>Mars<p>

Day 30

"Preventer Fire," right…?" came a teasing voice Lucrezia thought she knew. She was waiting by the astronomy lab for Toya. The girl was the right size and height, but her hair was blonde and pink instead of brown.

"Jomi…?" Lucrezia guessed.

"Noin…!" Jomi laughed. "God, I am so glad I wasn't lied to." She swung an arm around Lucrezia's neck in a swift hug. "I heard you were here. I totally missed you."

"Jomi, why didn't you tell me you were on the transport?" Lucrezia demanded, returning the hug. Her old LVA roommate was not the quiet type.

Jomi shrugged. "Thought it might be a scam, so I took a chance… Word on the streets is you booked with Zechs as soon as the Mariemaia Army was dealt with. I never even had a chance to get to Brussels. Silly Gundams… Oh well, it figures. I had to shut down LVA anyway…"

"Shut down…?" Lucrezia repeated. Jomi had taken command of Victoria when Lucrezia became Relena's Captain of the Guard. It never occurred to her…her old base… "It's really closed?"

"It isn't needed," Jomi began and then her face fell. "Oh, I guess I could have said that better. It was your baby for so long. I'm sorry. Yeah, there wasn't any reason to keep it open. I bet it gets picked up as a school again later—the facility is amazing, right on the lake."

"It's all right," Lucrezia said, wondering if she believed herself. It was the place where everything began and ended, her Victoria—a military school for children ran by teenagers. It was so strange to think of those halls, empty and dark, and the airfield abandoned. Not that she had been able to go back for a very long time, but it she was once so proud of it.

"Hey, don't look sad! We live in a world where kids don't need to learn how to use beam cannons. I'm all right with that. So, what do you do here?"

"Zechs and I are in charge of the Village."

"Zechs and you, huh…?" Jomi repeated with a knowing smile. "We all saw that one coming. God, did you ask him what the fuck he was doing with Libra? That was a bit much… Never mind," she tossed her pink streaked hair, "Not important now. Frankly, he did us a favor, I think. Someone had to show up and say this was dumb. The important question is, I hear there's a band and they're looking for a singer."

"That's Dave," Lucrezia had to laugh. The former medic turned communications tech turned musician was taking on all the odd jobs he could find since Ember and Rhodri took over the room with the first-aid kit and made it into an actual clinic. The band was the source of Zechs's ultimate vexation—the second-best entertainment on the colony—after listening to the Lightning Count yell at them to turn the music down. "He'll be at the campfire, so why don't you come with Toya and me so I can introduce you?"

"Excellent… I've always wanted to be in a band," Jomi said cheerily. "I can't wait. I'm so glad I decided to hop on that transport."

"Really…?"

"Of course…this colony has a decent shot at success with you two in charge."

"All we run is the Village."

"For now," Jomi said as the door to the new Astronomy Lab opened and Toya stepped out.

"Jomi…!" his face brightened. "I see you found…Lucrezia."

"Yeah, she's taking me to find these guys who need someone to sing in their band. Is the little telescope up?"

"It's ready to go, so show me this campfire."

"Hey, can we go see the admin building before we go the square? I'm supposed to meet my team there in the morning and I don't want to get lost." Jomi explained.

Lucrezia ended up taking them both up to the Village office so they could see the whole square. It was more fun pointing out places in Starfall in person than on a map, anyway. As of today, you could still see everything from the office, but she wondered how long that was going to last with all the new people and projects they'd brought in today.

Toya and Jomi stood at the big window, staring at the brightly lit Village while Lucrezia checked the latest messages from Earth. She noted Fell Evershade had approved a Sweeper contract with a passing thought for Howard, the famed mobile suit designer that quietly worked among them, and crazy Duo Maxwell. While she was in Sanc, Howard checked in almost monthly to see how she was and remind her not to lose hope. Was he still sailing Earth's oceans with the Sweepers?

"The big telescope will go on that mountain" Toya was saying. "I can't wait to get the first pictures."

"Do you see where to go?" Lucrezia asked. "The stage is by the fire. Zechs and I will lead a short Village meeting and then there is music all night."

"That is beautiful. What made you think of the grill?" Jomi pointed to the place where several members of the terra crew were cooking dinner.

"There is a main dining hall in Hydro," Lucrezia indicated the next building over. "That's where you go for meals the rest of the week. The night Zechs and I got here, the terra crew was 'cooking out'—even though we still live under a dome—it gets too smoky in the cafeteria. I remembered spending half my nights as a student on the roof," they both smiled at that, "so I thought we should do this more often and talked Zechs and Kieran into adding a few things. Tables, a permanent fireplace, the grills, stage, and the dance floor," she pointed at each in turn. "It's about camaraderie, really, although we will see if it holds up given how many new people came in today."

"That's not the half of it. You'll have monthly transports—probably bi-monthly. I signed up with Fell Evershade to work on the ocean side of the project and they said there was a massive spike in applications after Christmas. Specifically," Jomi cleared her throat, "after Lady Une announced your resignation from the Preventers and the Sanc Kingdom's court announced that the Princess Regent turned over control of the country to President Milan with Princess Relena's blessing. You have fans, your highness."

"It's probably a coincidence," Lucrezia said.

Jomi snorted and poked Lucrezia in the arm, drawing her attention to the flag patch on her shoulder just beneath the official Mars Mission patch. Everyone had taken to adding "hometown" flags to the new uniform jackets. Lucrezia and Zechs had both chosen a Sanc Kingdom flag. "I doubt it. I honestly do. It might surprise you, but a lot of people supported what he did, even if his methods were a bit…"

"Stupid…?" Toya offered.

"The Libra thing was stupid, but it also worked. It would not have worked if anyone believed Zechs was bluffing, either. Anyway, you have a pretty good following on Earth and I bet it will translate into further success here. The people who will risk it all coming out here are already the type to support an unorthodox solution."

"I…don't think he was bluffing," Lucrezia said softly. "It was Epyon. And it is better for Relena if he stays out of sight."

"And Mars will be the winner," Jomi predicted. "Wait and see if I'm right. If I am, you owe me a beer. Now, let's go meet the band. What is it called?"

Lucrezia was happy to change the subject. Talk of Epyon chilled her to the core. Her memories of those few days were already patchy—burned up in the stress of watching Zechs disappear little by little under Epyon's spell. She did not remember the end of the battle. Memory ended with telling Zechs she only wanted to stay by his side. Then she was on the deck of a Sweeper ship, sobbing, unable to move. She woke up on the same ship several days later and still didn't know what had happened. Trying to piece it together left her shaking and terrified, so she didn't try.

"The band…" she sighed, pushing the fear away for later. "Dave wants to have a naming contest…" she trailed off as she caught sight of a familiar shuttle taxiing on the airfield. Zechs was back.

Toya followed her gaze and smiled. "Okay, let's go down. I'm starving."

"You can get dinner at the grills and Dave will be on the stage. Sit anywhere you want. I have to…"

"We get it," Toya finished for her, "We'll see you there."

* * *

><p>It took Lucrezia a second to realize she could go to him. She didn't have to hold anything back. The instant he stepped through the airlock, she rushed to be by him—and stopped again, the usual distance away where her hand twitched up a fraction, going for the salute.<p>

She might have done it had Zechs stopped, too. He didn't stop until he was right there, arms around her, pulling her in. Instead of saluting, she put her arms around his waist under his coat. She looked up and caught his hair doing that thing where one long lock fell directly over his nose, making him ridiculously cute for someone with his reputation.

"You were going to salute, weren't you?" he teased.

"It's an old habit. We need to make new ones."

"It seems odd to have you greet me so formally now. People might talk."

"You do hate rumors…"

Lucrezia freed one hand to brush the lock of hair from his nose and followed that with a kiss. She meant it to be quick—Zechs lengthened it. Instead of monitoring his heartbeat, she lost herself in it. After talking about Epyon all she wanted was to hold him.

The kiss ended—kisses had to end eventually, but there would be more. She leaned against him a moment so her brain could catch up with her heart. "I love you," she added because she could.

"I love you," he returned. And she realized this was the first time that happened…the first words he used to give her were orders. She hid her smile against his coat. Her soldier-self didn't want him to see her reacting this way, but…Zechs loved her. Not that she doubted it, or anything, but with a year of silence between them the words felt new.

When she had herself together enough to look him in the eye again, the remnants of a blush still visible on her face, the lock of hair had fallen back across his nose.

"How long?" he asked pointedly. He said he'd ask.

"Eight hours and ten minutes, on time," she replied with a little smile.

They walked back to the square, its bright light visible over the tops of the apartment buildings. Kieran met them at the edge of it, looking cleaner than usual—the terra team existed under a layer of red dust. "Did you ask for a Sanc delegation?" he asked just as someone in the square shouted "look!" and a round of applause and cheers broke out. Isolated at first, it soon encompassed the whole square. Lucrezia felt Zechs go absolutely still next to her.

"Go on—they've been waiting for you," Kieran said for their ears alone.

"Why…?" Zechs said.

"Why not?" he said with a grin, giving the stunned soldiers a shove toward the crowd.

Zechs paused so she could take his arm. If nothing else, they had good manners to fall back on. Lucrezia silently asked God to pass her thanks along to Treize if he saw him.

The prince aimed directly for the fire, walking a little faster than normal when they got to the center of the crowd and the cheering surrounded them. She saw Ember standing near the fire with a glass in her hand, waving at them. Toya and Rhodri were up there, too. Jomi stood with Dave, Bob, and the rest of the as yet nameless band on the stage.

Kieran darted past them and up onto the stage, shouting for quiet. "Give us time to make a few announcements and we can get back to dinner!" he added. "There are a lot of new people here and I want you to know who is in charge of what. Zechs, Noin, Doctors, and New Guy—get up here!"

Ember, Rhodri, and Toya—apparently he was the New Guy—joined them to another round of applause and whistles.

Kieran borrowed Jomi's microphone. "Okay, here's who you need to know. I'm Kieran—I'm in charge of the Terra Team. This is Ember and Rhodri Lee Sunwing—medical team! They don't treat hangovers." Ember finished off her drink and handed it off to someone at the grill for a refill.

Kieran moved on to Toya and said, "I'd like to introduce our new scientist, Toya Kiri—he's in charge of the new Astronomy section."

"We have Astronomy?" Bob asked from behind a bass guitar.

"Since this morning—where have you been?" Kieran answered. "Next up: Lucrezia Noin and—not dead yet—Zechs Merquise—team Village! Anyone want to say a few words?"

Rhodri leaned into the mike. "Welcome to Mars!"

"Peace…!" added Toya with a wave for the crowd.

"Can I get a martini?" Ember asked the cooks.

"Zechs and Noin…?" said Kieran.

"Long live the king!" somebody in the crowd yelled. Toya spun around and Lucrezia heard him and Jomi collapsing with laughter next to her.

Zechs took the microphone away from Kieran. "Welcome to Starfall Village," he said quietly. The crowd immediately silenced—even Jomi quit giggling. Zechs took a minute to size up the crowd. "You may bring any concerns about the Village to us. Also…I believe you meant to say, long live Queen Relena, who we know wishes this project great success."

That had the intended effect. The next round of toasts and shouts went up for Relena, diverting attention from one rather self-conscious colony leader. Zechs gave the microphone back and leaned in to say to Kieran, "A little warning would be nice."

"Sorry, I got held up in the field. I didn't mean to take over your meeting, but I was inundated with questions about you two on my way back."

"It's all right," Zechs sighed and then, to no one in particular, added, "What am I going to do about this?"

"Shut up and like it?" Ember suggested.

"I did not intend to arrive and take over."

"It's all right, Zechs," Kieran reassured him. "Everyone is just…it's a good day, let's not worry about it. A lot of people haven't had good days in a long time. Give 'em that."

"And now everyone can get off the stage—it's time for a party," Jomi ordered, herding them to the steps. "Go, your highnesses," she added, aiming a playful shove at Lucrezia. She had just enough time to hop off the stage after Zechs, Kieran, Toya, and the Sunwings as the music started.

Shortly thereafter, she found herself at a full table close to the fire, wedged happily between Zechs and Ember, a bottle of beer and a steak in front of her. At least Zechs knew how to eat steak, a food that was rarely if ever picked up by even the less civilized. Rhodri, Toya, and Kylie rounded out the official group. Dinner was interrupted at intervals by one visitor after another, shy citizens of the Sanc Kingdom approaching the table to greet their former Princess Regent with smiles, bows, or in some cases, presents. By the time the steaks were gone and they were on the third round of beer, Lucrezia had a pile of gifts on the table in front of her, including flowers carefully preserved to make the trip from Earth, notes, cards, and even children's artwork.

They wanted to see Zechs, too, but she was the approachable one. They'd talk to the Princess Regent while shooting little looks at the looming golden-haired prince beside her. Zechs patiently answered questions about the village and gave Lucrezia proud smiles whenever someone gave her a present.

Her very last well-wishers were two kids that reminded her so much of Zechs and Relena, she had a hard time holding back the tears that image brought. The older brother—about seven or eight—held his little sister's hand as she carefully presented Lucrezia with a bracelet made of braided cord.

"It's a survival bracelet! If you get in trouble, you unravel it and you have string to tie things with! I made it!" the girl said proudly while her brother hovered and eyed the prince. Zechs eyed him back. The boy did not flinch under that gaze—rather he waited until his sister put the bracelet on Lucrezia's wrist before holding out his hand to Zechs.

"Here…" he said bluntly, dropping something small and white into Zechs's hand. "I made that at school. It was my favorite." With that, he tugged his sister's hand and they ran back to their table.

Lucrezia leaned over to see what it was. Zechs was apparently paralyzed, holding the object in front of him, so it was easy enough to see. It was a tiny, three inch tall, perfectly articulated model of the Tallgeese.

Ember leaned in, too. "Oh my god, that is amazing."

"Zechs…? Are you all right?" Lucrezia asked.

"I…I didn't… I don't…deserve…" Zechs mumbled.

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever seen," Ember fired a smile at the kids' table. They ducked behind some adults. The doctor got up and said, "I'll go talk to them. You stay here and be appropriately touched by that gift, Zechs Merquise."

Zechs found his voice. "This is…unexpected."

"It seems I am not the only one with fans," Lucrezia agreed.

Zechs looked over to where Ember was leaning over their table, saying something that was making the kids laugh. He made eye-contact with the big brother and tried a smile. The boy stared back for a moment then he bowed and smiled back.

That settled Zechs placed the little Tallgeese safely in his coat pocket. As he did, the band switched tactics and began a new song. It was Treize's favorite waltz—the one he used to put on repeat in staff meetings until all of his officers threatened another revolution if he didn't change it to something else.

Zechs stared in surprise as most of the dancers left the floor, thinking this was a break. Lucrezia got up and held out her hands like he usually did. "I asked them to play it," she explained. "You were getting tired of the rock music…so…"

"Thank you," he said. It was easy for her to read the rest on his face—he could not say more than thank you just now. This sort of attention was new to him, too. He took her hand and led her to the center of the now empty dance floor. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, "Let's show them how this is really done."

One…two…three… Once again, Lucrezia's feet knew where to go. It was easy as flying, dancing like this. The memory of Treize teaching her and Zechs the steps unfolded with the music. In a moment, all eyes were on them, as Treize intended. Some of the younger members of the terra team stood at the edge of the dance floor, eyes wide with delight. The little girl who gave Lucrezia the survival bracelet ducked under the strings of lights lining the dance floor and sat down to watch.

Then Rhodri and Ember joined them—equally schooled in ballroom dancing. It was mandatory training in Treize's OZ. Even Jomi hopped down from the stage to dance with Toya. The group did not need a singer for this kind of music. Bob rolled his eyes in amusement, but he and the others kept playing as the six ex-Specials danced.

It was over all too soon and unlike Treize, Bob wasn't in the mood to repeat the waltz. Instead, he played a popular song that happened to be one of Relena's favorites. Ballroom break over, the original group of dancers rushed the floor, leaving Zechs, Lucrezia, Ember, Rhodri, Toya, and Jomi trapped in the middle of it.

Jomi whooped and wove her way through the crowd back to the stage; Zechs instantly tried to flee. Lucrezia jumped in front of him. "Surrender gracefully," she advised over the music. "Relena loves this song and people know that." She got a Zechs-scowl, but it was a patient one. He knew he was caught when she quoted Treize. 'Surrender gracefully' meant 'you will do it because it is right and not because you want to.' Besides, all of the other ex-Specials were still here. Rhodri and Ember switched from ballroom to club without blinking an eye. Toya sang along.

Lucrezia sang, too. Her body found the steps to a dance she remembered as well as the waltz, but for different reasons. It didn't have steps, actually, just moving to the music. Relena loved this group and she'd play their songs loud, streaming in every room of the palace, and dance from room to room with her patient Royal Guard in tow. So Lucrezia shouted the chorus along with Jomi and Ember and let her looming, protective shadow…well, loom. Until the song ended and Zechs did not leave when the next one began.

"You're staying…?" Lucrezia ventured, not at all upset.

Zechs put his arms around her shoulders and hugged her close. "You're having fun!" he shouted back over the music. "Besides, I think I can adapt the steps of that waltz to fit this…"

"Is he overthinking things again?" Ember yelled.

"I am not!" Zechs yelled back at her.

"Are too…!" She raised her glass and added, "I'm just happy you're here! I'll be quiet."

"That'd be a first," he growled.

"I'm happy," Lucrezia added with a smirk as he tried twirling her to music much too fast for ballroom dancing. Then again, Zechs was clever.

"I know," he said. The spontaneous spin put her back where she wanted to be, in his arms. Zechs wasn't experimenting. He planned this. She put her arms around his neck and it might as well have been just the two of them dancing under the stars.

* * *

><p>Earth Sphere<p>

AC196

Space

"I can't _believe_ you did that! You just gave him a mobile suit – and _that_ one? Do you know what he can do with that?"

"Of course I know what he can do - that is why I gave it to him! Miss Noin is the only other one capable of piloting it and as soon as the two of you returned I intended to give it to her, but this works out rather nicely."

"_Do you remember anything at all about what happened?"_

"Yes." Lady Une's voice was cold. "I think about it every day."

"Lady Une, Sally," Lucrezia Noin cut in. "What are you talking about? You called me." She tried a smile. She was horribly tired. What a day this had been… Ordinarily she might shut her eyes, curl up in the pilot's comfortable chair, and listen to them argue over the Preventers' private channel…and they argued _a lot_. Not tonight…

"Lucrezia…" Lady Une began.

"Oh no, please, don't. Don't send her."

"He's asking for _her_." Lady Une said. "Sally, please."

"Who's asking for me?" Lucrezia mumbled and deigned to open just one violet eye. When had she closed them? When this was over and Relena was safe, she was off to her palace in the Sanc Kingdom for a soak in a hot rose petal filled tub followed by a week of sleep. Although she never tried sleeping that long, Lucrezia was not a girl who failed often. Yum…a rose bubble bath… The only downside was she would be alone.

"I'm staying out of this. I think you made a mistake, that's all." Sally said in clipped tones.

"And I do not. I haven't time to argue with you, Sally. Lucrezia, I need a favor. Please proceed to the coordinates I am sending you."

Lucrezia looked at her screen…and frowned. "Why there?"

"I haven't had the opportunity to tell you until now." Her voice held a resonance Lucrezia had never heard before. Kind, soft, and…if she didn't know better, she would've said envious.

"Tell me what?"

"It's Zechs, Lucrezia. He's…"

"…Zechs…?" Heartbeat…

"He arrived just after you left…I gave him Tallgeese, he's…"

"I'm on my way."

Breathe. How many days?

_It's all right. Just go get him._

* * *

><p>Mars<p>

The second she locked the apartment door behind them, Zechs kissed her. He helped her out of her jacket—an unspoken request to take it further. Lucrezia let him, sleepy and light-headed from the music and the first thing she thought of were the old OZ uniforms and the time-consuming if fun task of going through multiple layers of clothing to get to him. This was easier—if not as amusing as trying to unfasten all of those gold buttons without breaking any in her haste. His boots provided a bit of a struggle yet they were used to fighting all kinds of battles—no apparel mishap was going to stop her or Zechs. They got things somewhat out of order. Her shirt was the last thing to go; he dropped it at the base of the stairs before picking her up and carrying her to their room.

She was so wrapped up in him it took a moment to realize he had put her down a few feet too soon and on top of something a lot softer than a sleeping bag on the floor. "What the…?" she looked around and noticed the sea of red rose petals. They were lying on an actual bed—one large enough to fill most of the small room.

"How did…?"

"I may have…exaggerated the number of questions the new colonists actually had," Zechs said innocently.

"Where did you…?"

"I had it sent in on the transport. I cannot have you sleeping on the floor forever."

"I liked the sleeping bags." It was odd that the end of their extended campout might fluster her.

"I did, too," he agreed. "This is important. We are going to have a true home even if it must be one piece at a time."

The panic attack arrived so fast it staggered her. She worried about Zechs breathing and now she was the one who could not manage to get any air. It was like every emotion, every buried feeling from years of war rushed back at once.

Instead of the quiet solace of Starfall, she felt metal and burning things, hot machines turning their firepower on her—one small girl to beat them all back. She remembered Treize throwing his Leo suit in between her and an assailant. She flew over Lake Victoria, hunting down the Gundam that killed her students. She ran as fast as she could to reach the Tallgeese after Zechs almost died liberating the Sanc Kingdom.

She screamed Treize's name in the dark as he died in space.

She was on her knees on the deck of a strange Sweeper ship, too grief-stricken over Treize, Zechs and Epyon to move so Howard had to carry her inside.

_We are going to have a true home…_

She was alone, both stranger to and mistress of the echoing Peacecraft palace with the hopes of their kingdom in her hands.

She carried roses to Treize's grave and insisted to Dorothy that Zechs lived, even though the night she lost him hid inside a blur of pain.

"…Noin…!" Zechs was repeating her name in his command voice, his arms around her. That was different. She buried her face in his chest, struggling to breathe. Slowly, the pain around her heart began to release—inch by inch like chains falling away. It was familiar. She hadn't confessed this to him, these moments of absolute certainty that she ought to be dead. It had not happened since she arrived on Mars.

Embarrassed, she lifted her gaze and found he was terrified, staring down at her with his blue eyes as wide and horror-filled as she had ever seen them—which was saying something. "Noin…what did I do? What is it?"

"You…want a home…with me…" her voice broke.

"Yes…! I always have. Do you want me to call Ember…? Are you all right?" Zechs knew about heart trouble—he thought that was the problem.

"Don't call her… It's what you said about home. I fought for it for so long I think a part of me is still back…there. Sometimes…I can't stop thinking about it…"

"I'm here," he reminded her. "I'm right here. I'm sorry I left you alone for so long."

"I know."

"I'm so sorry. Had I known it would scare you, I would have told you what I was doing. That's the problem, isn't it?"

Lucrezia shook her head. "No, you never had to tell me anything. I knew."

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you can see everything if I can't tell you. Of course you're scared—you had to do everything alone when I'm supposed to be with you. I should be the one who protects you, loves you and…keeps bad things from happening to you. That's what I'm sorry for. I'm a terrible…"

Lucrezia kissed him then, before he could finish that thought. That wasn't what she needed right now. Zechs could tear himself down for days if she let him and he wasn't terrible. He was the fastest pilot in the world, a great leader, and her best friend. Tangling her fingers in his long hair, she kissed him until he gave in, held her, pulled her down with him into the bed. A real bed…the first thing that was ever actually theirs… She shivered as the same burst of panic struck her. It was too perfect…

And he stopped, gazing down at her with one of those heart-wrenching deep stares. "Not if you're scared," he said and he picked her up again—blanket, rose petals, and all—to carry her back to the same place on the floor by the window where the sleeping bags were still laid out.

He put her down and leaned over her, long silvery hair falling over his shoulders, and said "If right here is where you feel safe, this is where we will stay. We can work our way up to that," he meant the bed.

"I'm sorry…it's not that I don't like it," Lucrezia felt a little miserable. He'd done something very kind—what was her problem? It was funny how much easier to breathe it was, laying down here. It was crazy how well he knew her.

"It's a change—I should have guessed. I won't do that again. I promise I will tell you first."

"Okay," Lucrezia whispered.

Without a word, he lay beside her, wrapped her in safety—warm skin, long soft hair, and the new blanket. The painful star in her heart faded bit by bit, unable to survive without fear.

Lucrezia had never been afraid of Zechs. Maybe she was the only one. He was absolutely right—he was broken. She was no less shattered. Yet they'd made it all this way, lived through front line roles in the biggest battle in history. Even if her memory of the battle was gone, the rest of her was alive. The fear that kept her awake at night used to be that when she forgot the battle, she might have forgotten something else vital—blocked it out—and Zechs was never coming back.

Of course he came back—he'd never leave them forever. This was just Zechs acting like a prince, taking care of everyone; doing all the hard things because he considered it his responsibility. Right now, he was putting off what he wanted to make sure Lucrezia was not scared.

And she wasn't scared anymore. "You are a better protector than you think," she whispered to him, hoping he had not fallen asleep already.

"You have a funny idea of safe." Not asleep.

"Don't I know it," was the last thing she said before she finished what he started just inside the front door.

* * *

><p>Earth<br>Orbit

Duo Maxwell didn't think it was too over the top to feel like a king when he took the command chair of his very own spaceship for the first time. "Hilde! Ahead warp factor one!"

Hilde Schubeicher rolled her eyes, but she was smiling anyway. Duo grinned back and punched a button on the chair. The captain's chair had buttons! This was so cool… "Howard—it's me. You about ready to go…?"

Another ship glided past his, bigger than the new _Maxwell Church II_. Howard had enough spacefaring vehicles to support a small country—say, a certain small country on the coast.

"Good to go here, Duo," Howard said cheerily. "Let's get this show on the road. We have a long trip ahead."

"I can't wait to see Mars," Hilde said.

"Me too," Duo echoed, even as his thoughts immediately went to the message from Heero that started all this. He hadn't told Hilde or Howard about it when he asked them to go, counting on the exotic destination as a motivator. Besides, Mars really did request Sweeper ships to help with supplying the new colony and a contract with Fell Evershade Biomed was too huge to turn down. It paid for the _Maxwell Church II,_ a ship that Duo always wanted anyway. Still, he felt like a spy and that wasn't right. As far as he was concerned, Zechs Merquise was probably better off on Mars—he didn't need the ESUN meddling. Only it wasn't the ESUN, it was Relena wanting to know what her brother was up to and that was the kicker. Heero couldn't say no to Relena and Duo wouldn't say no to a buddy

The big ship's space engines fired to life and Howard's craft moved ahead of the _Church._ The Sweeper delegation was on its way to Mars…

* * *

><p>AN: *Giggles* Lady Une is a trip.<p>

Music: Relena's song? I don't know what her favorite song is since I don't have access to the iTunes store in AC197. ^^

The song in my imagination is Captain Kelly's Kitchen from the Dropkick Murphys' album The Warrior's Code. Yeah, I know. Dropkick Murphys? Relena…? It's a strange idea. In my defense, this is the album I listened to while writing my first drafts of this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own Gundam Wing, Zechs, Noin, Treize, Relena, Duo, Hilde, Howard, Sally, Lady Une, or Tallgeese. I do own a tiny little SD Tallgeese that my husband bought for me in spite of the fact that he does not understand my fascination with GW. ^^ Ember, Rhodri, Kieran, Jomi, Toya, the Terra Team, Bob, Dave, Kylie, and those two kids who were nice to Zechs and Noin are NPCs in my campaign. Don't kill them.

Thank you for reading! I apologize for this one going up late. I got stuck at work. Thank you for your patience!


	6. Prince of Starfall

AN: I'm travelling this Wednesday so…surprise! It's an early update. Hoody hoo! That's the good news. Bad news is I'll be travelling again this month, so my next scheduled update may be a day or two late. If it is, I'll post a little bonus story that Wednesday. Thank you so much for reading!

Prince of Starfall/Zechs's Day

0500

A soft touch woke him, tickling and feather light. Noin was leaning over him, her long raven bangs spilling down to brush his face. Through lowered lashes, he admired the view.

"Zechs, wake up."

"Lucrezia… How long have you been there?" he said innocently, although he knew she had been watching for some time.

She smiled. "Forever… Come on, wake up."

"You are up early."

"Some days are too good to sleep in. Toya has the little telescope ready, remember?"

"I remember, Princess," he said, allowing a smile for her energy. How could she be so awake this early?

Noin sat back, smirking at his choice of words. "Then get in the shower, Prince. You take forever with your hair."

"It takes a lot of work to look this way."

Noin threw her pillow at him and started to scramble to her feet…only to find his hand on her arm, holding her back. She was so close he could feel her breath on his lips while her magnificent, expressive eyes searched his. There was no way she was getting out of here that easily.

"Kiss me first. Is that not how it is done?"

"How it is done is entirely up to us. You're delaying on purpose," she accused.

"Yes and I am still waiting." He held her tighter. She could get away if she wanted to. As if she'd ever want to… Eyes fluttering shut, Lucrezia fulfilled her prince's request. Lucrezia, Lieutenant Colonel Noin no longer. Lucrezia, his beloved princess, who was looking forward to seeing stars today instead of going to war.

Lucrezia, the career soldier, was finally accepting the idea of happily-ever-after. It had taken a week of coaxing, tempting, convincing, and bribery to get her to sleep in the bed. The bed remained their sole piece of furniture and was likely to for some time for reasons more logistic than emotional—furniture was not high on the priority shipping list. Given how hard it was to get it here in the first place, he still felt guilty for frightening her when he should have known better.

Small victories were as important as the big ones. Wish fulfilled, he released her; Lucrezia stayed where she was. She took his hands and put them back on her body where they had been. Apparently she had changed her mind about getting them out of bed early.

0800

Lucrezia ran laps around the Village every morning. Ember had forbidden Zechs to join her and, to make the orders stick, his devious medical officer told Noin about it. Since Zechs was the one to give Noin authority over the pace of his recovery in the first place he had no room to argue. It was annoying. A year ago he probably would have done as he pleased anyway.

That was a year ago…he was different now.

A glance at the mirror on the closed bathroom door revealed blue eyes, tangled hair, and the light scars on his chest. Noin was getting used to them; her reaction to seeing him without a shirt was far better than it was at first. Already some of the scars were healed. He would be the same again. Between the rebuilt leg and the replaced heart, Zechs felt a little like a human variant of the Tallgeese—broken repeatedly and put back together with spare parts.

Because he could, he took a longer shower than usual; she teased him about this. Long hair was an affectation…and difficult for a pilot to handle, but his father wore his hair long and Zechs did too, keeping one thing the same. One tie to the kings of the past… Anyway, at Victoria, Noin's hair was longer than his was now. She would braid blue velvet ribbons through it and tie the braids in a complex knot at the back of her neck to keep it out of her way.

Noin cut her hair the day of the graduation ball. That was a horrendous week, filled with exams, practical tests, and fights. They'd been fighting most of the week. After years of companionship, time was up; the deal was off. To lose her, to drag her into his personal nightmare, was heresy. Where he was going, he could not take anyone. Noin was better off forgetting him—she _knew_ that. Cutting her hair was part of knowing. It was Noin leaving her innocence behind.

Treize put an end to their fighting, told Zechs to stop it and take Noin to the graduation ball. It was a formal party after the main ceremony and the students could dress as they chose. Most of the girls wore gowns; Noin showed up in uniform…her hair short, eyes haunted. After that, nothing was the same.

Zechs stayed in the water until his fingertips wrinkled and his hair was as conditioned as it could get. Dressed in Mars black and red and multiple layers to hide how thin he really was, he headed for the Village office. Ember let him run on the treadmill (supervised), swim in the new pool, and lift weights; he should talk to her today about running with Noin. Piloting a mobile suit required strength and flexibility. His reflexes were just as good as they were then. Perhaps if he explained it to Ember again she would let him do more.

0926

The tiny Tallgeese stood at the center of the Round Table next to an envelope addressed to him. Zechs dropped the stack of files he'd just received from Kieran in front of his usual chair. Now he knew why Kieran put them in charge of the Village—to get out from under the ESUN reports.

While technically Fell Evershade's private project, Mars was classified as a Space Colony and had to send regular reports to the Vice Foreign Minister's office. This presented a small problem as he was now reporting directly to his little sister when he preferred to remain officially dead. The worry was his past altercations with various political entities in the Earth Sphere would damage Relena's credibility. Although the ESUN wanted to leave some things in the past, it was foolish to think Libra was forgotten. The problem was solved by Kieran or Noin signing all of the reports, but there was one break in the mobile suit armor, so to speak…

Zechs glanced at the top file, labeled Sweeper Contracts, and decided he was in too good a mood to think about it. Instead, he picked up the heavy parchment envelope, a type of official communication among the nobility he had not seen since OZ.

"Hey, your highness, want anything from the café?" Jomi stuck her head into the office. Her hair was green today.

"Jomi, you do not have to call me highness and you certainly do not need to fetch me coffee."

"I'm not fetching you anything, Zechs. I'm going to get some for me and I'm asking everyone on this floor." To prove her point, she made a face at him.

"I'm sorry, Jomi. I do not need anything. I am meeting Lucrezia in Astronomy soon." This prince stuff must be getting to him. About one quarter of Mars's current population was comprised of Sanc citizens. It turned out that one could abdicate a throne, but not a country. It was quite possible it was going to make him crazy.

"Oh, yeah, the telescope is starting up today. Well, I'll see you there then," she grinned and ducked out. He heard her voice across the hall, asking Kieran if there was anything he wanted.

Returning to the envelope, Zechs broke the wax seal and pulled out another, smaller envelope, also with his name scrawled on it. He knew what it was and hesitated a moment. Ah well, would a negative reply change his mind at all…? No.

The note was rather terse and to the point considering the subject.

_To: HRH Milliardo Stephan Peacecraft_

_RE: Proposal_

_I have no objection. My daughter is free to accept. You and Colonel Khushrenada are more her family than I ever was._

_General Augustus Claudius Lucretius_

_His Excellency the Emperor of Rome_

"Does he remember Treize died?" Zechs wondered out loud.

It irritated him to see Lucrezia dismissed so easily by her father, even if they hadn't spoken since she left to attend Lake Victoria Academy. The so-called Emperor of Rome was a respected voice in the ESUN. Zechs had never met him, but he had studied some of the great general's tactics at LVA. Augustus was brilliant and allegedly as personable as a beam saber. Noin did not like to talk about him and that was enough of an endorsement for Zechs.

Seeking permission from the general had been difficult, but once again concern for Relena played a part. Much as Zechs hated to admit it, the Sanc colonists were correct. He was still a king. He could reject everything that meant except where it could complicate things for Relena. Not to mention it was the correct way to go about this sort of thing.

That he would marry Noin anyway without the general's permission was beside the point.

Things were falling into place rather easily lately—unusual in his experience.

"Hi Zechs…! Still alive, I see." Except that. Breaks in the armor…

Zechs put the letter in his coat pocket and scowled at Duo Maxwell. Duo grinned back from the door to the office.

"The open door policy is officially over," Zechs growled.

"It's nice to see you, too."

1000  
>Astronomy was packed with just about every off-duty member of the Terra Team joining Science for the big day. Zechs and Duo arrived close to the appointed time and had no trouble getting in. Grayson Cale—sculptor of one certain tiny Tallgeese model—and his sister Trifine waited at the main door. Grayson called out as soon as he spotted them.<p>

"Dad…! The Prince is here!"

Duo snorted. "Wow, does that ever get old?"

"I do not encourage it."

"Yeah, whatever… Hey kid! When are you gonna make me a little Deathsycthe?"

Grayson stared up at Duo with narrowed eyes, "When you bring me the parts."

"It just so happens I've got a box for you on the _Church_. They're unloading it now. I asked Howard to bring it to the campfire tonight."

Zechs hid a frown; Grayson fist-bumped Duo and said thank you. Trifine and Grayson's father, Addison arrived then and pointed them upstairs. "Toya is on the top floor, last door—the Secret Room."

Toya and Zechs kept the little telescope project pretty well under wraps; Addison was one of the few astronomers in on the secret. Everyone—including a bemused Noin—was banished from the so-called Secret Room until today. Zechs wasn't calling it a secret room, but everyone else was.

It seemed he had little control over what people called things around here.

"Welcome, Your Highness," "Good morning, Prince," "Hi Prince Zechs—can't wait to see the new telescope," Zechs negotiated the stairs and hallways to a variety of such greetings. It was catching on all over the Village. The Terra Team started using his title as a joke, but the longer this went on, the harder it was going to be to stop it.

Zechs escaped into the control room; Duo ducked through the door at the last second.

"I don't recall inviting you."

"I don't recall you getting to tell me what to do," Duo grinned. "Wow…nice."

The cavernous control room for the little telescope was as big as the main lecture hall at LVA. It was round with two levels, one with workstations, the other with seating for presentations and lectures. They called the telescope little because it was—compared to the other two under construction. All of the lower walls were lined with monitors and workstations for the Astronomy team. A projector at the center of the room showed either the planet's surface or whatever the telescope—in orbit—was pointed at. Right now, all the screens and the image on the tall curved ceiling were of Mars. In short, it was a small planetarium.

"This is great…hey, there's the surface teams…! Ocean generators, landing field, radio telescope site…you can see everything." Duo sounded genuinely impressed.

"That's for security. We can find anyone on the surface. Kieran lost contact with a team last week and it was very difficult finding them even from the orbiting platform. Good to see you again, Duo," Toya added, stepping down from the slightly elevated map table to shake Duo's hand.

"Yup, it's my weekend to watch the kids," he winked at Zechs.

"Is Howard with you?"

"He's supervising the supply transfer. He can stay this time—got that engine fixed back on L2. So, can you show me the ships?"

"Sure, if Zechs agrees. The deal was no space shots until Lucrezia gets here." Toya looked at the prince for confirmation.

"You may as well test it," he sighed, although he did not want Duo to be the first person to see the telescope in action. Toya got the message and put the image up on a single monitor. Howard's ship and the smaller _Maxwell Church_ were both docked at the transport that brought the telescopes.

The only reason Zechs agreed to the test was to see the other Sweeper ship for himself. A faulty engine on Howard's ship saved Zechs from a confrontation with the Tallgeese designer on the Sweepers first trip. Howard had saved his life at least once, possibly twice, and kept an eye on Noin at Zechs's request. In return, Zechs caused him nothing but trouble. Finding out Duo was on the other ship was less of a punch to the gut than knowing Howard was here.

Duo was honest about his presence—he was reporting to Heero. That was bad enough, but getting Howard to leave his boat usually took something pretty important. Zechs was worried about what that important thing might be. Not for the first time, he wished he had insisted Kieran allow him to keep a low profile. Between that and the Sanc patriots on the terra team, he had zero chance of remaining dead.

Things were going so well up until now. What part of disappearing did Earth misunderstand?

Toya shut down the space camera and looked down at Zechs. "Lucrezia is here. Do you want to let everyone in now?"

"Why all the secrecy…? You never really said," Duo asked.

"The telescopes are a gift for Lucrezia. I want it to be a surprise."

"Wow… Most guys go with roses or diamonds or something…"

"She already has a variety of rose named after her and she owns many diamonds. What she does not have is an orbiting telescope."

Duo stopped in the aisle. "What a tragedy. Every girl needs one of those. Damn it Zechs…! You're making the rest of us look really bad!" he yelled.

Zechs ignored him and opened the door to find Lucrezia waiting calmly on the other side of it. Although she was dying to see the inside of this room, she had eyes only for him. "Hi…" she said lightly. "May I come in now?"

"What is the password?" Zechs asked.

Lucrezia pondered a moment and said, "Never lock me out of a project again?"

"Agreed, but that is not the password. Remember, you said it was all right this time." After the little debacle with the bed, he had formally asked if he could give her the gift of a completed telescope. Lucrezia agreed only if she could help with the remaining two. It was a fair bargain considering that he got to surprise her without upending her tenuous grasp on the happily-ever-after idea.

"We did not decide on a password."

"Really, Lucrezia, it's always the same thing."

She laughed and kissed him, which was what he wanted, but didn't want to say so in front of Duo. Zechs took her hand and led her into the room. Toya walked past them to open both sets of double doors and admit the rest of the team eager for a look at the new telescope.

Zechs wanted to impress her.

In truth he had already, many times over, beginning with their first war games at LVA. Treize set the two of them against each other to "see what would happen." After Zechs's group soundly beat Noin's, she was intrigued. She stayed up all night building a strategy to beat him in the inevitable rematch.

His mistake was expecting her to lose. She beat him more thoroughly than he had her. It was impossible to stop thinking about her after that and even harder to stay away from the only classmate capable of giving him a fair fight. From that day on, he had both competition and companionship. From that day on, his sole mistake remained underestimating the depth of her commitment. He believed it was a one-sided love, just a damaged prince longing for the unattainable. How wrong he'd been. Noin was by his side step by agonizing step as Zechs negotiated the difficult path he set for them.

Now he wanted to impress her with something better than being the perfect soldier. He wanted it enough to start pulling all-nighters again, but this time to learn how to program an orbiting telescope. Zechs's knowledge of astronomy was the same as most mobile suit pilots trained to operate in space—just the basics, primarily navigation. Fortunately, he was still a good student. He did not have to give up too many nights, which was good because he had better ways to spend them now than studying.

Lucrezia's dark violet eyes took in the immense room with excitement—she certainly looked impressed. He led her up to the map table where Toya and Duo waited.

Zechs half-wished he could have done this just the two of them, but he was no astronomer and could not have put a telescope in orbit and made it work without Toya and his crew. It was only right all of them were here. And since the whole Mars project was getting a push from the addition of the telescopes, they couldn't leave out the terra team. It seemed he was never going to have a life that was not slightly political.

Toya began talking about the telescope. Zechs tried to listen while wrapped up in the girl beside him. He kept his eyes on Toya, but Noin was too close. Even when he was the Lightning Count and Noin his loyal protector, he found it difficult to maintain composure in her presence. The mask was a tremendous advantage. One could conceal a smile, but eyes always gave away too much. Fortunately, he was also taller. Except that only served to remind Zechs how well she fit in his arms…or the best way to take her down hand-to-hand. Usually she ended up pinning him. Maybe he let her…tomboy or not, there were some things a girl could not hide and a play-fight was a fun excuse to get his arms around her.

"Lucrezia… Would you like to try it?" Toya's voice snapped him out of his reminiscing—probably a good thing.

"Yes…!" Noin replied and eyes lit with excitement. Zechs loved it…followed by crushing jealousy that a telescope put that look there instead of him. She stepped past him to the controls; instead of getting out of her way he let her move close just to feel her. Clean soap, warm skin, the faintest hint of expensive fragrance he bought for her… Toya kicked him in the shin and he stifled a yelp.

"Save it," his friend whispered in his ear. "You're grinning like an idiot and you have an audience, prince."

"Shut up, Toya…don't you start, too."

"Stuff it, Zechs…" Toya smiled his eternally optimistic smile and started giving Noin instructions in astronomer speak. Zechs found he understood most of the words. Toya pointed to a spot on the touch screen and Noin tapped it and…the room exploded in stars.

The planetarium effect worked. They were surrounded by a galaxy of glowing, sparkling, red, white, orange, blue, bright, faint, living, dying, close, and distant stars. The astronomy team cheered. Toya beamed and explained how the projector turned the image from deep space into the one in the room. Noin stood by the table, transfixed by the lights. Zechs couldn't blame her. He found it difficult to tear his eyes away, too.

Quietly, he moved to stand beside her. Noin was absorbed in the stars and completely unaware of his approach. Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, "I wish you could see the look on your face." The princess jumped and Zechs smiled, enjoying the reaction he got. He rested one hand on the console, the other on her back and looked over her shoulder at the map table. He felt his hair fall forward…then Noin's fingers in it, stroking and smoothing it back to his shoulder. Lightning followed her touch, scoring his skin beneath the jacket where her fingers traveled.

"I look that silly, huh?" she said. Zechs did not agree. Gazing back at the young woman he wanted for his own princess, he moved back a little.

"That happy," he said in a softer voice, "and…pretty." Pretty was only the beginning, only the surface of his feelings. Treize was the better poet. Noin's face reddened and she bowed her head behind concealing bangs…a trick she must have learned from him.

"Hey Zechs, move over," Toya yelled. "You're in the way."

Turning to regard the astronomer, he tossed his long hair and said in his best Treize-voice, "I'm the Village Leader. I will stand wherever I wish."

Noin giggled. Toya rolled his eyes. "Your ego is the _Colony_ Leader. Now move so I can explain where we are looking. You're blocking the projector."

"All right, all right…" Zechs had never meant to make Toya mad; he only wanted Noin to smile again. He stepped aside and Noin moved with him, her hand firmly locked in his.

"You do like your telescope, right?" he said hopefully.

"Oh Zechs…" her standard answer when words were not enough. That was one impressed princess.

Mission accomplished.

1200  
>That was the last quiet part of the day.<p>

Toya and the astronomy team had a lot of work left to do with the telescope and the instant they started running tests, the computer system crashed. Zechs was easily the best programmer on Mars, so he was drafted to help. That made him late for a meeting with the agriculture scientists over in Hydro. Lucrezia ended up going alone, promising to be back by lunch

Ten minutes after she left, Hilde called down from the _Church_ to see if there were any additional shuttles free to help with the supply drop. Lucrezia left the meeting and went right to the transport platform.

Zechs got the computers up and started for his shuttle, but got waylaid en route by two terra teams arguing over who got to use what truck on what project. He had very little patience for disagreements of this nature and sent both terra teams out to work on one project together with a quick call to Kieran to confirm the shift change. Kieran did not mind—it turned out he was tired of fighting over vehicles as well. They decided to requisition a few more.

That settled, Zechs finally made it to the shuttle and completed one supply run from the _Church_—medical equipment destined for Ember and Rhodri. When he dropped it off at Medical, Ember had him help her move some of the false "walls" in the prefab building to accommodate more beds in their ER. The terra team couldn't go a day without putting someone in Medical with at least a minor injury. Zechs made a mental note to create a risk management section and ran back to the airfield to fit in one more supply run…which did not happen because his shuttle suddenly developed problems with its landing gear. He debated switching to the shuttle he and Lucrezia took to get here, but the hold remained occupied by one large mobile suit he had not made the time to tell anyone about. Given that, he couldn't just offload the Tallgeese, throw a tarp over it, and hope no one noticed.

Instead of moving supplies, he helped the ground crew check everything in, went back to Hydro to confirm the results of the morning's meeting, and finally escaped to the village office. By then it was nearly 1500 and they had a staff meeting in an hour.

He missed Noin. They tried not to get separated, but it was tough on supply days since all of the pilots were needed.

Kieran was waiting in the office, covered from head to toe in mud and red Martian dust.

"Kieran…!" Zechs stopped in the doorway. "What happened to you?"

"Dust storm-sorry about the mess. Here…" He handed Zechs a jump drive.

"What is this?"

"ETA on an atmosphere, our plans for dismantling the dome, and my request for a weather system," said Kieran, a little smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Zechs stared at the dusty object in his hand. "You…you did it?"

"We have the beginning of a breathable atmosphere."

"I thought it would take a lot longer…"

"Oh, it won't be fully stable for months. This is just a preliminary report. But I can expand the dome and give Starfall more room to grow. There is a map in there for Toya. I found a crater suitable for that radio telescope he is going on about. We'll slap a new dome over that, too, so he can take a look. Once we get the ocean generators going, that will help the atmosphere normalize."

Zechs walked around the office, careful not to get too close to the dusty terra leader and plugged in the drive. A map of the planet's surface appeared above the Round Table. Zechs stared at it while Kieran pointed out some of the features of the atmosphere project. With this step, Mars was suddenly less remote, less forbidding. Was this really going to work?

"I have a weather system" Zechs said finally. "Duo Maxwell brought one his first trip here. It's on the transport."

Kieran's face lit up. "Really…? Does it work?"

"I have no idea. With Duo, you can never be totally sure."

"I will check it out," Kieran promised. "Oh, one more thing…" he dug around in one of his numerous pockets and produced a small blue stone which he dropped on the table. It glittered in the light. "We found a heck of a blue diamond deposit in the telescope mountain. Naturally we won't continue mining there, but it looks like we will find some interesting stuff. I am asking the company for more construction mobile suits…if that is all right."

"You do not have to ask for my permission," Zechs objected. "We were put in charge of the Village…everything else is outside my control."

Kieran shrugged. "Maybe… You just seem…interested. …Like you've already taken the job of Colony Leader. Anyway, I have a lot of work to do. Check those plans over and let me know what you think. Department meeting in an hour, right…? Good, I have time for a shower!"

Kieran made a quick bow and left, tracking more dust across the carpet. The prince sighed. He walked around the table to pick up a large rough diamond the color of Treize's eyes. He wondered if anyone here knew how to cut or set a stone. This was a resource he had not counted on. Relena would be happy. Noin was not interested in too much ostentatious jewelry…but this would be beautiful on her, too.

Still, he had something else in mind.

With the Tallgeese taking up the cargo hold of their shuttle, most of what they brought to Mars was in the nature of survival gear and small personal items. Not that Zechs had much…he was not particularly attached to the past. An old foot locker standing against one wall of this office contained a select few things he wished to keep. Now he opened it, searching for a small piece of the Sanc Kingdom. Kneeling down, black coat and golden hair falling in a circle around him, he found the ornate little box underneath his old scarlet uniform coat. He touched the red wool with hesitant fingers, reluctant to experience that memory…although compared to some, OZ was not so dreadful. For a time, he even enjoyed it. OZ had done a few things right.

Inside the box, wrapped in Peacecraft purple velvet, was a white diamond and platinum ring. Most of the Peacecraft crown jewels were scattered now—Relena had her heart set on finding them-but several small pieces remained, rescued by loyal palace guards or stolen by Alliance soldiers only to be recovered by OZ. The Lightning Count called in more than a few favors from hated Alliance officers to get this ring back. In the end, it was Treize who located it…although he would never say how…shortly after Operation Daybreak put OZ at the center of the world stage. Treize said some things did not need to be explained. Zechs was grateful…this ring belonged to Peacecraft princesses since the founding of Sanc. He supposed it was worth a little subterfuge by His Excellency to get it back. Besides, Treize knew perfectly well Zechs wanted it back because he was going to give it to Noin someday; Treize was a hopeless romantic. It was worth it to him to risk political capital to participate in a "fairy tale."

Zechs snickered. "Some fairy tale, Treize," he said to the empty room. Peacecraft princesses traditionally married in the historic cathedral in Sanc's capital, not on Mars. He was unwilling to wait for the day he might be able to go back there. It could be years…could be never.

A leather photo album rested on top of the red coat. Zechs looked at it, wondering what ghosts would rise if he opened it. Hiding the ring box in his jacket pocket, he stood up and carried the album back to the desk with him, flipping through it…and stopped at a picture of Treize and Noin. Most of these photos were from school, Noin the principal subject. One of her blue velvet hair ribbons was tied inside the front cover. A weakness, this…he should not have it. Yet when he believed he would give her up for good, he kept it anyway.

Falling into his chair by the computer, the Colony map still hovering above the desk, Zechs put his feet on the tabletop and flipped through the pictures. Treize and Noin smiled up at him from Victoria, resplendent in blue. Treize's smile was the secret one…the one only his friends had the right to see. His arm draped over Noin's shoulder, he snuggled her close as they flashed matching peace signs for the camera. They'd been close; Treize was her favorite flight instructor before he was ever His Excellency. Treize had treated her like a spoiled little sister, showered her with presents, jewelry, gowns…and encouraged her to spend time with Zechs.

The picture was taken at the graduation ball…such a disaster. They were young and hopelessly attached. Zechs was desperate to escape her before the worst began and Noin, the perfect soldier, was equally desperate to protect him. She knew she would have to give him up to do so; he knew he would give her up to keep her safe. Noin could no more stay with him than Relena could. That night, he planned his last dances, last kisses…the end of school, the end of everything.

All week they fought over their final scores; Noin came in a whole two points after him. Zechs accused her of throwing the competition. Noin said he did not understand. Treize sided with Noin. Zechs took her to the ball as planned anyway…and was reduced to blind rage when he saw her in uniform, short hair, blank eyes. She was not supposed to be like him.

He dragged her out of the ball to the airfield, demanded to know what she thought she was doing. Her duty was clear; she was to become his protector, his shadow. She refused to accept any other life. Even then, he could have had Treize keep her safe someplace…but Noin would not allow it. This was her farewell. Since she was a small child, her emperor-father taught her to have one purpose: to protect those who could not fight for themselves, to fight for what was lost. Noin would have gone to war with or without him—she simply had the same goals. And she was not about to back down because she happened to fall in love.

Hearing this drove him half mad with grief and adoration…and the dreadful realization he did not deserve it. For years after that he would try to show her how evil he was, to drive her away…and fail every time.

With a sigh, he tossed the album on the table, still open to the pictures from the graduation ball. Zechs pushed back his bangs, turned to the Colony plans, and tried to get some work done. Yet all he could see, or feel, or think of was Noin staring up at the stars in astronomy and smiling like he hadn't seen since school.

After a while, he gave up and lay back in the chair, staring at the pictures spread out before him and the transparent map. He did not intend to fall asleep there, did not realize it until Ember Lee Sunwing was shaking him awake.

1450

"Zechs…are you all right?"

"What…? Ember why are you…?"

"Staff meeting in ten minutes, right?" his doctor said, wrapping her fingers around his wrist and pressing. She was always checking his heart rate. It was profoundly annoying.

"Stop that."

"If you won't stop by the hospital, I have to come to you. Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Yes…"

"Eating...?"

"Yes…!"

"Taking your meds?"

"Ember, get off me. I am fine."

"You are still too thin," she fretted, pushing up his sleeve to study his arm. Then she stabbed a needle into it. "Blood sample," she explained. "Stop fidgeting."

As soon as she finished, Zechs jerked his arm free. "Maybe if you let me exercise properly, I would get better. Can I run with Lucrezia in the mornings?"

She scowled. "Not those marathons of hers…"

"I promise not to run the whole way."

"One lap," Ember leveled a finger at him. "Take it easy. Even if the gravity is controlled under the dome, it's still harder to exercise here. Don't be reckless with this, Zechs Merquise. I heard about you."

He had to smile at her seriousness. "What have you heard?"

"You gave yourself a heart attack at nineteen with a Tallgeese… Featherhead," she added.

"Oh…that."

"Just be careful. I don't want to have to tell Lucrezia I screwed this up." Ember bit her lip and regarded him for a moment. "By the way, some things are better therapy than running. Sex for example…I can clear you for that if you were worried."

It took him a minute to realize what she said…then he jumped out of the chair. "Ember Lee Sunwing…! That is entirely inappropriate!"

"Why are you always going on about stuff being appropriate? I'm your doctor. It's my job to tell you things like that."

"Inelegant then…" he folded his arms across his chest. "How do you know anyway?"

Ember shrugged. "I fixed your heart as I recall. It's not like I don't know anything about…"

"_Ember Lee Sunwing…! Get out of my office!"_

"Not until after the meeting. Calm down before you give yourself another coronary."

Zechs realized his heart was beating fast. Taking a deep breath, he went back to his place, fixing Ember with his best glare all the way. She did not even blink, just picked up her bag and moved to her usual spot at the table. "What's with the map?" she asked.

"It is Kieran's long range plan," he said absently. "Ember, have you spoken to Lucrezia about this?"

Now she blinked. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Never mind," Zechs slouched in his chair. Ember and Lucrezia became friends faster than Zechs expected. It was a bit unsettling, considering how well Noin knew him and how much Ember learned about him in the year he spent confined to her hospital.

Ember kept watching him. "What's wrong?"

"She's..." Zechs stopped. It was not his place to tell Noin's secrets, but ever since he found out about the panic attacks, he felt it was his duty to fix it. Ember would know. He ran his fingers through his bangs, arranging them into a sort of mask. "She doesn't remember what happened on Christmas Eve."

Ember didn't have to ask what Christmas he was talking about. "Zechs, I didn't know that. Did…you tell her?"

"And how would you initiate that particular discussion? I love you, sorry I almost killed you? It was that bad for her." He stared at a carved knight on the table top. "I didn't know, either. She can't remember anything except Howard picking her up off the deck of some Sweeper ship."

"Okay. What do you want me to do? I can…"

"You can't tell her I told you! I have to…"

"Do this all alone? Zechs, no one can possibly handle all of the singular tasks you set yourself. Are you an expert in post-traumatic stress now?"

"I'm sure if I read about it…"

Ember threw a pencil at him. "You are such a featherhead."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Calling you what?" Duo Maxwell said as he walked in, Hilde by his side. "I vote for…"

"Duo…!" Hilde silenced him. "Good afternoon, Zechs…Ember."

Ember waved in silent greeting; Zechs only sighed and reached for his photo album. Unfortunately, Duo saw him and grabbed the book first.

"What's this? Hey, it's the OZ yearbook. _Wow, _is Treize drunk?" Duo's eyes widened as he laughed. "Hilde, look at this!"

"Duo, I'm sure that's personal!" she said.

"Then why did he have it out on the table?"

"Because I am quite stupid…"

"That's the word I was looking for!" Duo flipped pages, grinning. "Heero would kill to see this. Look Hilde—Treize had pet birds!"

"How cute… Duo, give that back, please." Hilde begged.

"Not until I'm done. Hey, there's Miss Noin and Toya…and Une! _Nice house! _ Where was this?" he held up a picture.

Zechs looked, "Treize's estate in Siena, Italy." There was no point in lying. Leaning his chin on his hand, he watched in resignation.

"These are all pictures of Miss Noin," Duo announced. "This is awesome."

"Duo…" Zechs started, eyes closed.

"No, really, this is nice." Duo handed the book back. "I wish I had something like this."

Zechs stared suspiciously at the pilot. "Is this a trick…?"

"Why do you assume I am kidding? It must have been great to have friends around all the time…even stuck up royal friends. Can I have the wasted Treize picture to send to Heero and the guys?"

"_No!" _he yelled and Ember laughed so hard she nearly fell off the chair.

Duo was offering to pay Zechs for a copy of the Treize picture when Noin came in with her jacket slung over her arm. "What's this about a wasted Treize picture?"

"Zechs has one."

"Really…?" Noin swiveled to look at him.

"Treize was not 'wasted,'" Zechs objected. "It was taken at the graduation ball."

"Oh, yes…yes, he was drunk." Noin giggled. "We practically carried him out to his carriage…"

"Carriage…?" Duo exclaimed. "What the hell…?"

"Treize had a horse-drawn carriage," Noin said, turning on her computer. "It was fun."

Duo shook his head. "I am really starting to wonder about this guy. Something tells me I could have beaten him with a nice red wine and a parakeet."

"I would not be so sure about that," Zechs warned.

Duo shrugged. "Well, my offer 's on the agenda for today, Miss Noin?"

Zechs scowled. "I don't recall inviting you to this meeting."

"I am a colony supplier," Duo said defensively. "I have an official contract with Fell Evershade Biomed and I might have important information. Miss Noin, can I stay?"

"Zechs…?" Noin shrugged, indicating she did not mind. In truth, Zechs had no reason to deny the request.

"Stay," he allowed.

"Thanks. By the way, do you have a King Arthur complex or something? This table is crazy."

"It came with the colony," Zechs said.

Rhodri and Toya came in, followed by a much cleaner Kieran, who closed the office door behind him. It was still a small group which Zechs somewhat preferred. It was easier to make decisions in in a smaller group, but he did not wish Mars to be another military installation. Some things had to stay in the past. Even so, Zechs ended up leading the meeting, something he found himself doing without thinking about it. If Kieran had a problem with it, he never spoke up, preferring instead to talk about the terra project.

They went around the table. Kieran walked them through the state of the atmosphere and his plans for the dome. Duo promised the secondhand weather system worked fine as far as he knew. "See, I told you I should stay." Ember and Rhodri updated everyone on new emergency services. Toya recapped the telescope presentation from that morning. Noin filled them in on the day's supply transfers and the agriculture team meeting from that morning. Zechs fielded the idea of creating a couple new departments including one focused on safety. Rhodri immediately seconded that, meaning they were going to have to decide who to add to the leadership.

"Jomi," Noin suggested. "She was my second at LVA so I can vouch for her."

"I'll talk to Addison. He offered to take some of my workload here so I'm free to go out to the mountain when we start construction." Toya put in.

Zechs nodded. "Anything else…? Anyone have any new business?"

"New offer, Zechs: fifty bucks and I let you fly the _Maxwell Church,_ and you can keep the original picture—all I need is a copy."

The others laughed, even Noin. Zechs picked up the photo album and held onto it. "I'll think about it…No."

"Ha, okay," Duo hopped up. "That's good. I didn't want it anyway."

"Then why did you keep asking?"

"I wanted to know something about you. Now I do—you look after your friends. I expected as much. Now, I hear you guys have a big party every week. We missed it the last time. Thank you for letting us attend your meeting," Duo waved at them as he escorted Hilde to the door. The rest of the colony leadership followed, except for Noin.

Ember shot Zechs a look as she exited; he shook his head once, meaning, don't tell her. Ember frowned, but nodded agreement. Ember could not share any secret without permission.

Zechs stayed seated, slouching in the chair with his legs stretched out in front of him; the right one was hurting a bit. Lucrezia came over and sat on the edge of the table next to him.

"You look worried," she said.

"I am trying not to think too much about what he is telling Heero and Relena."

"He was honest about his presence here. Maybe we should not read too much into it. It's not like Heero and Relena are the enemy," she pointed out.

"No, but some of the people she works with might be."

"Do you want me to send a message to Lady Une? If there is a problem, the Preventers will know about it."

"I think…I am exaggerating my own importance, lately. Why should anyone on Earth care that much about me?" Except Sanc, he added to himself. Sanc seemed to care too much.

Lucrezia moved in a bit closer. "Zechs, you _are_ important. You just don't see it." She softened the remark with a kiss. "I'll contact Une," she added. "Or better yet, Relena. It isn't like we can't talk."

"Don't worry about it. I won't."

"You already are." She stood up. "Are you ready to go to the campfire?"

"I'm going to see if I can get my shuttle fixed first."

"Jomi asked me to bring a truck out to the field for her group, so I will meet you there." She kissed him again and added, "Although I wish we could skip it. I'm tired."

"Me too," Zechs agreed. "Let's call in sick tomorrow."

"I wish," she said as she left the office.

Zechs checked his pocket to remind himself the ring was there. He was only half-kidding about the sick call. Ember would believe it, though, and hover. He'd have to think of another reason to explain skipping work.

1705  
>He made the call to the landing field and watched from the window as the band set up their gear in the square. It was already crowded down there—the same thing happened on the last Sweeper visit. Zechs spotted Duo and Hilde at the grill, helping the cooks. It was tough to think of Duo as any kind of threat since the kid was so damned happy all the time. After everything they had been through, it felt wrong to accuse the Gundam pilot of subterfuge. Zechs just did not want to risk anything going wrong with Relena's project—especially if it was related to him. Except…where else would he go?<p>

"Whoa…looks like somebody has a King Arthur complex. Where'd you get the gonzo round table?"

Zechs stumbled against the table, clutching his chest…_that_ one hurt. He'd been so worried about Duo that he forgot about the other problem... When he looked up at the door again, Howard was still there, peering at Zechs over the top of his ever present sunglasses, dressed in a standard wildly patterned shirt, shorts, and sandals.

"What's the matter, Peacecraft? Forget those perfect manners of yours?"

"Howard…what are you doing here?" Zechs yelled. He hated being caught off guard.

"Vacation …I thought Mars might be a nice change of pace."

Zechs risked a smile. "What pace, Howard? You live on a boat."

"Good point. I'm glad that stupid thing is over—I had to leave my boat for weeks to fix that mess you made in space." He stabbed a finger at Zechs. "Never do that again."

"Yes, sir," Zechs said politely.

"Damn straight. Drop a space station on Earth…of all the half-baked ideas. Well, it's over…drink up!" He lifted a half-empty bottle of champagne.

"Where did you get that?" Zechs demanded. The terra team preferred beer to wine.

"They call it the 'Village Square.' Duo's got a couple crewmen out there handing them out. I told 'em to mix us up some margaritas. Looks like there's gonna be one hell of a party."

"There is one at the end of every week."

"Good, that's the way it should be. So Peacecraft, how the heck are ya? Heard ya got a new ticker…" Howard slouched over to an empty chair and put his feet on the table.

"What…?"

"A new heart…"

"Oh, yes. I'm…fine, I guess."

"You look a little pale."

"You scared me!"

"Sorry about that."

Zechs walked back to his chair, but stayed standing. "Howard, um, I have to apologize for…"

Howard held up a gnarled hand. "Forget it. I know what you're gonna say and it's not your fault."

"Yes it is."

"All right, maybe it is, but I should have told you what I thought about Zero when I had the chance. I was trying to spare your feelings, thought you'd figure it out. I guess I underestimated it…and I'm sorry about that, so let's call it even."

"Howard…" Zechs did not think it was even at all. Howard rescued him after his rather dramatic 'resignation' from OZ—although he could never shake the sneaking suspicion it was the Tallgeese he rescued and Zechs just happened to be with it. Later, they worked together in space before the Libra incident. Zechs expected the older man to be furious; instead he just looked like he always did, amused and probably slightly drunk. "Howard, that does not make it even. I did a terrible thing…I know why I did it, but still…if I succeeded, it would have been devastating."

"I can't argue with that…totally. Stop pouting, Peacecraft, it's over. You did what you felt was necessary…that's all any of us can say. I'm not mad and neither is Miss Lucrezia."

"How do you know?"

"She's here isn't she?" Howard countered. "A lady like that would not travel all the way to Mars for just anybody. She's got it bad for you. Good to hear you finally did something about it. You used to go on about her for hours…"

"I don't recall discussing this with you."

"Sure you did. You got totally smashed the night we finished repairs on the Tallgeese and told me all about this hot soldier-girl from the Academy with heliotrope eyes and midnight hair or some kind of nonsense. I caught you making kissy-faces at your pillow as I remember…"

"Shut up Howard!"

The Sweeper laughed, "Yeah, I missed you, Peacecraft. You're the only guy I know who can use a word like 'heliotrope' and get away with it. By the way, what does that mean?"

"Purple… It's a purple flower that always turns toward the sun."

"Huh…Well, I was awfully sorry about all that with the White Fang."

"Me too," Zechs agreed quietly, rubbing at an IV scar on his wrist.

"So stop worrying about it. If I was mad, I wouldn't be here either. You want a piece of advice pretty-boy?"

"I'm afraid to ask… Does it involve margaritas?"

"It could," Howard shot back. "Here it is: it gets easier. Give it some time. And if you have a pretty girl to help you through the long lonely nights, so much the better."

"Howard…" Zechs took a deep breath. There was something he had to find out and Howard was probably the one with the answers. "I tried to kill her. I saw her, she refused to obey my order to leave, and I attacked her fully intending to end her life."

"Why the hell did you do that?"

"Epyon told me it was necessary, that its pilot could not have her. At the time, I thought it was right."

"So what, did she block your shot?" Howard leaned forward, interested.

"No, she waited for it. She just held her position and let me attack." Zechs closed his eyes; suddenly back in the moment, the rage, the pain, and the intolerable voice of the dragon in his head.

"Hmm, so then what happened?"

"I…missed."

"You missed. I don't believe that for a second. I've see you fight, Lightning Count, and you don't miss."

"I pulled back just in time. I couldn't do it. Epyon…was furious." In truth the dragon was livid; he spent the rest of that day and night enduring the pain of its punishment. The dragon did not understand why Zechs chose Noin over it.

Howard regarded him intently. "You know what I think?"

"More advice…?"

"Sounds like you need it, Zechs. I think she broke whatever hold it had on you long enough for you to realize what you were doing."

"Where are you getting that?"

"You just said it asked you to make a choice of sorts… Look, it's only a guess. And she was with me and the Gundam pilots for most of it, so I got to see what happened to her."

His heart was pounding hard again. He looked up. "Was she angry…?"

"No, she was happy, said that there must be something left if you wouldn't hurt her. And she was pretty worried. I never saw anybody so torn up over someone else…except maybe you when you told me about her."

"Howard, what happened after? She doesn't remember anything between the time I left to find Heero and when you found her on that ship. Did you…?"

"It wasn't me. I looked for you, but Epyon was already gone. When I got to Miss Lucrezia, she said it was all right. She was…banged up. Let's say that—it was hard to understand her." Howard stared at the champagne bottle as if it helped him think. Zechs had never seen him look so…sad.

"I got a call from a…Captain Heaven Tear, I think her name was. Anaya Heaven Tear—she's a Sweeper. Said that I should come and get the Duchess of Rome, that her Taurus was messed up and she needed a lift. That's the first thing I did. All the way there, we were looking for your mobile suit—I had the whole crew on it. Nothing… Found the Wing Zero, but we figured you were gone. Heero didn't see anything. So I went to Anaya's ship. She had your girl all right; hadn't seen her in a bit. Anaya was right—that Taurus was in bad shape. Miss Lucrezia was lucky they got her. It wasn't flightworthy anymore."

"I tried to tell her we couldn't find Epyon. It didn't seem right to hide it. That was the funny part," Howard took a drink before looking Zechs in the eye again. "Miss Lucrezia said it was fine and you were safe. I figured she'd lost it. Tried to explain it again—she insisted you were alive. Couldn't get it through to her we didn't even have the Epyon. Months later, I got to see her in the Sanc Kingdom and she was sticking to her story. Didn't believe a word of it, to be honest…then you showed up on Christmas Eve and I decided who was I to argue with a crazy girl like that?"

He put the bottle down and added, "She loves you a lot. You better be real good to her."

Zechs managed a yes. The mental image of Noin on the deck of that ship…alone…all alone after everything that happened in those short days broke his heart.

"Milliardo," Howard said sharply, yanking him out of the flashback. "It's over."

"I'll take care of her. I promise…" Zechs said past the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry…"

"I told you not to apologize. We all did what we had to do. Now, I heard there was gonna be some party tonight and I can't miss that. I have a reputation to think of, too, ya know. Come on—let's go get drunk and toast the pretty girls that put up with us."

"Howard…" Zechs was searching for something to say when Toya came back.

"Zechs, I forgot to ask…hey, nice shirt! I thought I was the only one around here with taste." Toya's shirt was purple with big red parrots all over it. Zechs sighed.

"Thanks, I like yours too," Howard said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Toya from astronomy. I'm building a telescope."

"The name's Howard. I used to build Gundams."

"Oh, the Tallgeese guy…! I heard of you. Want to get a margarita?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Let's go, Zechs."

1730  
>Zechs followed them down to the Village thinking about his talk with Howard and listening to him and Toya sing an old folk song about a margarita town at the top of their lungs. He should have known those two would hit it off.<p>

"_Searching for my lost shaker of salt…!_ Take it Zechs…!" Howard shouted at him.

"I don't know the words," he replied, bemused.

Zechs had never seen the Village square so brilliantly lit or as filled with people. They walked into an outdoor festival of lights, music, and the requisite campfire. The picnic tables by the fire were already packed with colonists and terraformers sitting down to Bob and Kylie's greasy—and surprisingly good—food. Someone had put up posts around the tables, stage, and dance floor with multicolored lights strung between them for additional illumination. Kieran was on the stage, helping the band set up and laughing with some of his crew, prerecorded music blasting from the speakers by his feet. Zechs caught himself grinning back at Duo and Hilde, who were flipping burgers on the grill and seemed to be having a great time.

It was the biggest crowd for a campfire yet and he realized the Sweepers must have brought a few extra people with them. For the first time, he didn't recognize everyone that gathered in the Starfall village square.

Suddenly Zechs very desperately wanted to see Noin. Where was she? She said she would be here. Vexed, he scanned the gathering for her. Perhaps she was back at the apartment. Was there any elegant way to find her in all of this? Next time he was going to set up a meeting place.

Resigned, he wandered through the crowd, hearing loyal shouts of 'prince' and politely turning down invitations to join various groups. Not until he found Noin… He was tired of being alone; had been since Noin told him she was tired of waiting. All this time, being afraid…why was he still wasting time? All that time she believed he was coming back, with no evidence to back it up—just faith.

Of course she was here someplace. When Noin said she would be there, she was. Zechs stopped on the path, turned and faced the campfire.

And saw her.

Lucrezia Noin in the golden light, raven hair shining against her pale skin, was frantically beautiful. Simply dressed as always in a white camisole with little pearls at the neck and black cargo pants, her hair falling across her face, she leaned across the table to share a joke with Ember and Rhodri. Apparently, she found time to go home and change. She put her palms on the table and lifted one foot from the ground.

She always leaned in close when the subject or the audience was especially important. Even when he called her from a distant place, she would rest her hands on the screen and move in, Noin's way of saying she thought he was important enough to receive her whole attention. Yet she always kept a secret back, one or two things concealed behind those shining eyes; Zechs knew that trick because he used it, too. Now he wanted those secrets and the girl that owned them. The prince would give anything, even all his secrets, for that.

Noin lifted her chin, gazed about, obviously searching. Zechs stood still, waiting until her velvet eyes fell in his direction. Only then did he move toward her, seeing nothing else the entire way.

She met him at the edge of the rows of tables. Backlit by the fire, her slender body trimmed in gold, raven lashes casting little shadows on her face, she smiled and tipped her chin up. Zechs came close and took her hands in his while keeping her arms down by her sides.

"Here is my princess," he whispered in her ear. Noin—Lucrezia—trembled nicely.

"I'm starting to think you like that royal stuff," she teased.

"You've changed my mind. And I mean it."

"Oh…" she blushed again…she was doing that a lot lately. He loved it. He wanted to continue breaking walls and feeling shivers, all of those things he pushed away before. No longer did he consider them a threat or obstacle; his goals were met, duty complete—except for this one thing.

_You have a new heart. Make good choices._

"I need you for a minute," he told her. Lucrezia nodded and let Zechs lead her away from the fire, down the long rows of tables, to an empty one at the edge of the crowd. He knew how he was going to do this. It was still scarier than finding out about Tallgeese…fighting Epyon for control of his mind…or even the space between breaths.

Zechs took the little box out of the pocket of his coat. The rather spectacular ring sparkled so much in the Martian starlight of course Lucrezia knew what he was going to say. And her eyes were still as big as planets.

"Zechs…" she said his name not to stall him, not for anything except she did not know what to do.

"This." He took her hand again and she let him. Good sign. He knew he'd have to do this carefully. She was clearly surprised that the ring fit on the correct finger for an engagement. "I've wanted to give you this for a very long time. A few of the Peacecraft crown jewels survived the fall of the Sanc Kingdom. Treize managed to recover this one for me and I had it resized," he let himself smile. It felt right and he found he was less scared if he grinned like an idiot.

"Treize…got it back?"

"He never told me how. Flat out refused, which could mean anything. All he said was it was worth it to call in a few favors to 'participate in a fairy tale.' In return, he simply wanted me to tell you he helped find it."

Lucrezia stared at the ring, lower lip trembling a bit. Zechs kept talking, needing to distract her, keep her here. It was very important…

"Now, the story goes that the Peacecraft princess who first wore this ring was a great knight and hero of the Sanc Kingdom before she agreed to become queen. You've probably read that part of the constitution—how the king normally took care of the land and people and the queen was the ambassador to other nations. That was long before my father decided we should stay out of the war. We had our soldiers before that. I decided this was the ring I wanted to give you and Treize promised to do what he could to make that happen."

"And Treize didn't mind…?"

Zechs pulled her close. "I've loved you longer than you may realize. Treize was fully aware of that. I made sure of it."

She was still trembling. He held her tighter. "Don't be scared," he begged… "You don't have to be scared of this. I don't want you to be scared of anything ever again if I can help it."

"Zechs, are you…?"

"I would like you to marry me. I want you to be a princess because you're part of my family, not for political necessity. And…I think you're just reckless enough to handle it," he added, using her favorite description for wayward Peacecrafts. He could admit he'd earned it, if she could marry a beat-up old soldier.

Lucrezia was quiet. Zechs took that as a good sign. "Please?" he added. "You don't have to answer right away if you don't want to. You can think about it."

"I want to marry you," Lucrezia said, voice breaking. "I've always wanted to…"

It was a rush not too unlike flying, hearing her say that. Now he wondered if he was the one who was going to fall apart. It was a shot of pure happiness, a thing he only ever felt when she was around. And it was obvious now even if it hadn't been back then…when he fought with her at Victoria and beside her in OZ, talked to her every night from space, waiting and waiting for a chance to come home only to have it all nearly obliterated by Epyon.

"You're the only thing that saved me," he whispered to her before he kissed her…and kissed her until the band started playing in the square.

Zechs gave Lucrezia as much time as she wanted to catch her breath. She leaned on him—that was a change—and brushed tears from her face with the backs of both hands. The starlight glittered in her new diamond. Music swirled around them along with the mingled voices at the fire. They were waiting for his usual kickoff speech; Zechs could not think of a single thing to say tonight.

"Hey, are you guys going to grace us with your royal presence tonight?" Ember appeared out of the shadows, carrying a case of champagne. She halted when she saw their faces. "Oh no, what did I interrupt?"

"You didn't interrupt, Ember. We were just about to go over…" Zechs said as Lucrezia lifted her hand to brush her hair back and a flash of light caught Ember's sharp eyes.

The doctor put down the case of wine to get a better look. "Zechs…did you make a good choice?" she teased. "Whoa…" she added as she got a look at the diamond. "He doesn't like you at all does he?"

"Ember…"

"Are you going to the campfire?" she asked. "Need me to send your regrets?"

Zechs and Lucrezia exchanged a smile and she said, "No, I want to go."

"Me, too," he found that he did. He was a little surprised he felt like being social. Maybe he just wanted to show her off…

"All right…! Let's open this case then!" Ember swept up the box and led the way back to the square.

* * *

><p>AN: My friend tells her cats to "make good choices." Sometimes they do and sometimes they try to knock the disc golf trophy off the mantle. Zechs is like that. One minute he's doing the right thing and the next thing you know, there's a space station plummeting toward your head. :)<p>

Of course he asked her father! MANNERS!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, Zechs, Noin, Relena, Heero, Treize, Duo, Hilde, or Howard or any mobile suits designed by Howard including the Tallgeese. The Mars Terra Crew is here because Zechs and Noin can't do everything alone no matter how hard Zechs tries. ^^

"Searching for my lost shaker of salt…" Lyric is from "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett.


	7. The Mobile Suit in the Mountain

The Mobile Suit in the Mountain

_Earth_

Relena Darlian Peacecraft had five minutes.

She was in the family chapel at Elysium palace, a place she must have visited with her royal family when she was a baby. Probably she was christened here with her big brother watching and a kingdom rejoicing in the arrival of their new princess. Those may have been beautiful days, or they were dark ones, overshadowed by the threat of war. She had been only two when the attack happened. Whatever memory she had was excised by trauma or perhaps she simply never saw it at all. In many ways, Relena was a mystery to herself.

The press conference at Elysium palace had already begun. President Milan was announcing a new partnership between the Royal University and the Martian Deep Space Telescope Project, something Relena was interested in as her brother had completely hijacked her terraforming project.

This was acceptable. Her direct knowledge of her brother amounted to a few rumors, the ridiculous unauthorized biography of the Lightning Count that she had read purely for entertainment, and the entire White Fang incident. None of that contributed to a personal relationship, but she liked to think Milliardo had potential. When he left for Mars, she believed he was realizing some of that. The telescope project was a genius way to get another scientific community involved. Duo's reports were largely positive. All in all, it looked as if Milliardo was doing the right thing.

And now there was this.

She evaded her personal guard, including Heero, for a moment alone before the interviews began again. How had she fallen so easily into this role of mediator for the entire sphere? Not too long ago her only worry was completing a tough homework assignment on time while traveling with her family. One glance out the window of a shuttlecraft changed all of that. Had she never seen a shooting star, would she be here now, staring at the notice posted on the church wall and wondering about her brother on another world? If she was never in danger, would she still be in the dark about her past as a Peacecraft princess? If she never saw a shooting star, the names on this posting would not have made her pause.

If she never saw a shooting star…would it be posted at all?

Heero was looking for her by now, but she could not tear her eyes off the wall. She was reading the marriage banns, something she had done when she was little and bored at church. It was fun to imagine the weddings they planned or what the people looked like. Sometimes she knew them, if they went to her church. Sometimes she was invited to the weddings and got to see if the reality matched her imagination at all. A sea of white dresses and flowers was like candy to a lonely girl always set apart from everyone else. Someday perhaps she would find love like that.

A knock on the doorframe announced Heero's arrival. "Hey…" he said quietly, in case she was busy and did not want to be interrupted. "They're ready."

"Look at this," she said. She reached for his arm and pulled him into the room, pointing out the appropriate notice.

_I publish the banns of marriage between Prince Milliardo Stephen Peacecraft of the Sanc Kingdom and Princess Lucrezia Alexina Aurelia Noin of the Empire of Rome and the Sanc Kingdom. This is the first time of asking. If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons may not marry each other you are to declare it._

"I don't get it," Heero said. "What is that?"

"It's a tradition. Some churches still ask for them, especially if the bride and groom are among the nobility. I think it's more of a fashion than a requirement. In this case, I believe it is just my brother trying to tell me he is getting married." Of course Milliardo would not know she read the banns. She may, however, have mentioned this bit of childish fantasy to her one-time captain of the guard…

"Does this change anything?" Heero asked pointedly. He was probably thinking of succession and the still-empty throne. Relena had not appointed a new regent when Lucrezia left. There was no need. President Milan was a capable leader for the time being and only Lucrezia mattered to Relena's plans.

"Let's go to the conference. Then I think I shall clear my schedule. We're going to Mars."

If he was surprised she wanted to go, Heero did not show it. "I'll contact Duo," was his only reply.

* * *

><p><em>Mars<em>

Lucrezia sipped her tea and longed to be back in the dining hall. Breakfast seemed so long ago. Granted, they were taking a break. Yes, she had this travel mug of hot tea. True, the lunch hour drew near. However no one in the lava tube was getting a bite to eat until Zechs and Toya had the rover programmed and this was the source of her current frustration.

"No, reset it!" Toya said, exasperated.

"It does not need to be reset," Zechs disagreed. "It is ready. Simply upload the commands and…"

"It won't upload until it resets, Zechs."

"I already did that! Look, control…code…upload file… Oh. What the…?"

"I told you to…"

"I know what I'm doing! Give me the remote!"

"Let me do the reset first and then we can try another upload!"

"You don't have to reset it twice!"

"Then why isn't it working?"

Lucrezia could have told them why it wasn't working, but her fiancée was a bit snappish this morning and Toya was clearly afraid of losing face as the top astronomer on Mars. It was all stupid, yet it was early and she felt she had contributed enough of her diplomatic skills to the discussion. Now she sat on a rock with her back resting against the wall of the lava tube and drank her tea, ignored the squabbling and listened to the terra crew on the radio. The day was only half over and she was covered in red dust from head to boots. No matter…after six months on Mars, she was used to it. Really used to it. Almost used to it. She brushed the red dust from her bangs, only to add more to her hair from the reserves building up on her glove. This was a long shot from the glamorous palaces of Sanc…all eighteen sunny palaces with running water and swimming pools…but every time she looked at the prince she was reminded of why she was here.

Her glamorous ring was back in Starfall since it was unthinkable to risk losing it spelunking and Lucrezia realized that she missed its weight. Being engaged was a bigger rush than hurling a mobile suit headlong into a firefight. It made her feel like she belonged—was a part of another world that ran on love instead of pain. She felt a touch closer to normal for a twenty-year-old girl, even if her idea of normal remained slightly skewed. After all, she was marrying a golden-haired prince with whole history books devoted to his antics.

Zechs was not as golden-haired as usual at the moment. Hunched over the little tunnel rover, it was tough to tell him and Toya apart under the layer of grime. The lava tubes presented a possible solution for the solar radiation problem still plaguing the science team. Since quartering the growing number of colonists and terra team members fell under Zechs and Lucrezia's responsibility as leaders of Starfall, they joined the team investigating the tubes. Ordinarily, they spent their days either in the office or on the shuttles ferrying supplies or people around the planet. Those jobs were…less dusty.

"Damn it, Toya, I don't know why it isn't working…" Zechs said suddenly, about to kick the little rover. Toya held him back.

"Don't! These things don't come cheap! If you break it, we have to crawl through all these caves ourselves. Now apologize."

"I'm not apologizing to a robot…"

Lucrezia's handset started talking in Kieran's voice. "It's lunch time. What are you guys doing in there?"

"Sorry, Kieran," she replied. "There's a problem with operating the rover."

"Tell them to kick it and let's go eat."

"I will."

"Lucrezia…?" Zechs turned to her. "Help…?"

All right then. "We'll see you in a minute, Kieran," she promised and switched off the radio. Stashing her tea in a rucksack, she took the control pad from him.

"Guess we need a new pair of eyes on this," said the prince, rubbing his with an orange red hand.

"That's okay," she said evenly and his anger immediately faded. Good. If there was any truth to Treize's claim she had the ability to calm people—specifically an angry Zechs Merquise—she was happy to use it when needed.

The little rover whirred and restarted—they had forgotten to delete the previous maps before installing new ones. It was a tiny oversight and one she made while learning to operate it herself. She did not call attention to it until Zechs asked what she did and then he only raked at his dusty bangs and laughed. "Well, we should have remembered that. I guess it is a good time for lunch. Thank you, Lucrezia," he added politely, remembering his good manners even in the dark of a Martian tunnel.

They packed up and headed for the cave exit, leaving the rover to do its job searching the tunnels. Toya rambled all the way about the radiation problem and how the atmosphere would fix that once it was properly "mixed." Lucrezia listened, understanding about half of the process. She always lost her place when he brought up the more complex formulas. She was a military commander, not a scientist. Her job was to surround herself with scientists able to tell her it was possible to make Mars inhabitable. The how was up to them. For the moment, she was content to listen and understand as much as a professional mobile suit pilot's science background allowed. She happily followed her prince through the tunnels into the pink-tinted daylight and the lunch awaiting them at the terra camp.

The shared a camp with Kieran's group today since their scouting trip was near one of the big ocean generators. The thing towered nearly twice the height of a mobile suit, shimmering silver in the sunlight. The atmosphere and ocean projects depended on each other. Lucrezia munched on a sandwich in the shadow of the generator, watching Kieran and Jomi walk around on top. They looked small. Anyone else might be intimidated, but she was bred to fly giant robots. The generator was just another oversized machine to her.

Conversations flowed around her, most of them between terra crew members and the generator team. Now and then someone brought her a refilled water bottle or a cookie from the cooler. The Sanc contingent, it seemed, did not want its prince or princess inconvenienced by having to get their own lunch. She did not know if she should ask them to stop as it was probably pointless anyway.

Toya was polling the table, asking everyone what they would have done if not for the war. Apparently, some of the scientists were skeptical that OZ would train an astronomer when it had really been about elite pilots. It was not a question Lucrezia had ever asked herself. She was born into Rome's most notorious noble family, the duchess-daughter of a general so famous that people took to calling him the Emperor of Rome. Augustus rather liked the idea of single-handedly resurrecting the old Roman Empire and did not put a stop to the practice.

Lucrezia had not spoken directly to her father since she was six, but his affectation still annoyed her. Quite possibly it contributed to the way her hackles rose when the Sanc colonists waited on her. She was awkward with her titles, preferring instead the comforting simplicity of the one she earned, Lieutenant Colonel Lucrezia Noin of OZ.

Like it or not, though, a princess she was and a princess she was going to stay. Relena had made the appointment stick, signing all of the needed documents to formally install her as not only a regent, but a royal. A princess herself, Relena could do that. Relena, although distanced from her birthright, had not chosen to abandon it and…Lucrezia knew damn well that no matter what he said, Zechs hadn't either.

Zechs claimed to be out of the line of succession, but thanks to the war, never formalized it. Essentially, Milliardo Peacecraft had not filled out the right form. When she took up residence in the palace, she discovered the appropriate notes in the legal record, signed by Treize Khushrenada of course, stating that Milliardo Peacecraft had not and would not abdicate. It was Treize holding on to every advantage, including the Peacecraft Monarchy. It was also Treize looking out for his best friend, knowing Zechs was too caught up in the cause to seriously consider what might happen in a future he thought he would never see.

Zechs was still the heir to the throne. Even if Relena had not signed off, Lieutenant Colonel Noin was destined to be Her Royal Highness Princess Lucrezia Peacecraft the moment she spoke her wedding vows.

That he knew this was somewhat proven when Toya asked Zechs what he would have been had he not gone to Lake Victoria Academy. Hardly looking up from the tablet in his hand, Zechs replied, "King."

To which Toya rolled his eyes and moved along, but Lucrezia could provide no better answer. "I would have commanded armies in Rome." In her father's paper Empire, her destiny was the same. She'd have been no spoiled palace-bound duchess.

Toya shook his head. "Okay, you two can't play anymore," he laughed, but of course they knew he was descended from Polynesian nobility and a similar fate might have befallen him. It was still worth it to hear Zechs acknowledge he had the potential to be king. Part of her heart wanted him to never have felt that pain and loss in the first place. Of course, had it not happened this way, she might be watching from Rome as Sanc fell again in a war without end. At least he had helped end it, if in a shattering way.

Toya held up his own tablet, showing the note on the screen. "They are still clamoring for us to pick a leader,"

"The ESUN had best get used to waiting at the rate this group is going," Kieran remarked, overhearing Toya's statement on his way to the lunch table.

"I'm just saying it's still his chance to be king—King of Mars!"

Zechs shot him a quelling look. "We are to pick a colony leader, not a monarch."

"Just seeing if you were paying attention," Toya put down the tablet and rested his feet on the table, tipping back in his chair. "Think I'll take a quick nap before we head back down there."

"We have a lot of work to do."

"Yes Your Majesty," he quipped.

Zechs had a formidable glare and he used it. "Don't you start," snapped the king.

Toya pulled his cap over his eyes, "Sorry, what was that? I'm napping. Oh, and if you demand respect, then you're king."

"Not it," said Zechs, eyes still on his work.

"King," Toya retorted with finality, closing his eyes. Lucrezia stifled a giggle and otherwise kept her mouth shut. It was her problem, too. It was just more fun to tease the looming, dead serious one. The same thing could be said for the possible king's future bride...

Jomi came over to grill her for wedding details as she was packing up to head back to the lava tube.

"Is this thing going to be formal or what? I didn't bring anything fancy enough for a royal wedding."

"That's the plan," Lucrezia said, checking the pockets of her rucksack for a spare water bottle. This was a frequent question as of late and the resident princess was coming to terms with the idea. Fortunately, the prince had made his wishes known. "He wants to have the traditional ceremony even if we can't do it in the Sanc Kingdom."

"Well, you could. I think there'd be a lot of disappointed people on Mars, though."

"You're right," Lucrezia agreed, shouldering her bag. One of Treize's first lessons in nobility was that nothing, especially not something as personal as a wedding, was every truly your own. "It will be easier to do it here anyway. There will be less of a chance of interference."

"Do you expect that?"

"I don't know what to expect at home. According to Duo, Relena has done a lot to smooth things over about Libra and the fact that the telescopes are sending back good pictures has doubled her success. The leadership seems willing to give Zechs another chance…but it might be better to stay out of sight for a while longer."

Jomi shrugged as she zipped up her jacket and pulled on her gloves, preparing for another hike up to the generator. "We can put on a better party here anyway. You know if we go home, Relena will just jack the whole thing."

"Close enough." Lucrezia knew Relena would not interfere too much, but she would have to put in an appearance and her mere presence would be enough to make it a political circus. Zechs had only asked for one thing, the formal ceremony…and tears suddenly splashed on her lashes.

"Silly," she admonished herself as Jomi looked curious.

"What's silly?"

She sniffed and blinked rapidly to clear her vision. "Zechs…wants a formal ceremony because he doesn't have any good normal memories and he wants one. Can you believe that?"

"Yeah, I can," Jomi smiled and punched Lucrezia in the arm. "That's sweet. You know everyone will blame you."

"I don't care if they do. If the whole cake and flowers thing makes him happy, that's what he'll get. Only I don't know how were going to do that here."

"We'll think of something. Put the Sweepers on it. They've got connections."

It wasn't a bad idea. Duo and Howard seemed to be sticking around. Apart from a few trips back to the Earth Sphere to pick up supplies, their ships were permanent fixtures in Mars orbit and Howard had taken up residence in the telescope building, enthralled by the glimpse of deep space. Lucrezia wondered what Heero thought of his chosen spies' decision to stay or if it was part of the plan all along.

Thanks to Jomi bringing it up, Lucrezia's mind was mostly occupied with wedding plans for the first part of the afternoon as they waited in the tunnels for reports from the rovers. It was not normal for her to be leaning against a red-tinted dirt wall, programming tiny robots and pondering dress patterns. Back at the palace, there had been a whole team of designers to dress her every day; she could use their help now. Finding a respectable princess's wedding gown on Mars was impossible—the dress had to be either made here or shipped and there was no one among the science and technical teams qualified to do that. Of the formal gowns she brought, none were grand enough for a royal wedding. Even if someone did know how to sew, the material still had to be sent for. The whole dilemma made the rovers and the complex telescopes seem simple.

"Damn it, we switched bags," Toya said, bringing her back to the task at hand. She found she liked pondering the wedding, so she was a bit reluctant to return. Toya was rummaging through a bag of cables, cursing in old-surfer language—something about bad waves and sharks. "Kieran has the maps and I have the backup control kit for the generator."

Zechs came over and handed his rover's control pad to Lucrezia. "I'll go get it. I'm out of water anyway." He kissed the princess and headed for the cave exit, sweeping up the stray bag on his way. Toya caught her smiling like a schoolgirl and slugged her in the arm much like Jomi had.

"Come on, princess. We can check the other corridor while he's gone."

They hiked further into the cavern until they reached a new cave, a dark red rock room spangled with glittering minerals. They shimmered in the torchlight as they set up the next rover. At first, Lucrezia thought it had a faulty motor—it was making a funny grinding noise that the others did not. When she picked it up to examine the treads, she realized it wasn't the motor.

Toya heard it, too. "That's outside," he got out before the entire cavern seemed to jerk to the left. Lucrezia tasted dirt and her head struck the edge of the rover. A flash of warm blood soaked her temple. The cavern tipped again—it was really tipping. Earthquake… She shoved the rover away and got up, launching herself at Toya as the back of the room slid into the front. Just missing the raining rocks, they dashed back to the exit. The rover followed as if it understood the danger.

The quake was over by the time they hit the entrance to the lava tube, rover at their heels. Lucrezia swiped at her bleeding hairline and surveyed the horizon for the rest of the team. A cloud of dust rose where the ocean generator was supposed to be. Heart in her throat, she traded silent looks with Toya. As one they took off running for the dust cloud.

Jomi and a half-dozen rattled techs met them three-quarters of the distance to the worksite; Jomi slammed into Lucrezia so hard the princess staggered. "No, stay here!" she shouted. "The damn thing fell in!"

"What are you talking about?" Lucrezia shouted back, steadying herself and her friend. "What fell?"

"The ground just opened up under the generator. It's wedged in there."

Zechs…? Lucrezia shut her eyes, dropped her chin, tried to think. He went to trade bags with Kieran and Kieran was at the generator. The generator team was working inside this afternoon to connect the electrical system. They were all inside. There were two outcomes to this scenario. They must have missed a connecting lava tube when the site was selected. They knew the Martian surface was prone to events like this. It was a potentially fatal error—they could lose the whole crew. Or they could act quickly and retrieve the generator.

Something shifted in her head and she forgot the blood, the wedding dress, and the rovers. When she opened her eyes again, the mobile suit pilot was back. The world felt different; Noin blinked at Jomi and began giving orders. "Get everyone away from it. Have the construction suits brought out here." She fixed her gaze on one of the rattled terra team members and he froze. She knew what she must look like, what she presented. This was no place for the gentle princess. "Get Ember and Rhodri out here at once," she told him. When they faltered, she advanced a step, allowing her fury to flow through her eyes and to the assembled science team. "GO NOW!"

Jomi nodded once—the motion sharp and military—and spun on her heel to carry out her orders. The others followed doggedly, uncertain. They were scientists, not pilots or soldiers. They would not know.

Noin dug the radio out of a side pocket and called Starfall. Duo answered from the telescope building. "What's shakin', beautiful? Looks like we had a quake..."

"Duo get the cameras on my present location and tell me what you see," she snapped.

Duo was a Gundam pilot. He heard the situation in her voice and reacted appropriately. Noin did not permit herself to feel relieved. "Done… Damn! It's sinking fast."

"Mobilize the shuttles. Medical is appraised of the situation. How many construction suits can we get?"

"Four," he said instantly, then, "wait, three. Unit ten is under repair. I'll bring in the _Church_—see if I can't move 'em faster. From where I'm sitting, though, I don't think they will work."

Noin took a deep breath. "What do you see? Can you send it to me?" She fumbled a small tablet from her pocket and tied into the central computer system. A field of stars popped up, followed shortly by Duo's view of the Martian surface. The generator was wedged in a deepening crevasse and he was right, it looked precarious.

Her radio clicked. "Lucrezia," Zechs said in her ear, his voice as calm and dark as always. He may as well be right next to her.

"Status?" she replied, not daring to ask for anything else. He was alive enough to talk. Okay. The situation was better now.

"Everyone is fine. What does it look like from outside?"

"Can I send you an image?"

"Yes."

"Duo, route this to Zechs, please."

"Got it," said the Deathscythe pilot. "The _Church_ is heading for Starfall to get the suits, but it will take time to get them loaded."

"The generator will not maintain this position for long," Zechs informed them in the same level voice. "We are going to fall shortly."

"I'll tell them," Duo said.

"Lucrezia…" Toya whispered in her ear.

She said, "Zechs, Duo—hold please," she killed the radio. "Doctor Kiri?"

He noted the use of his title by using hers, "Princess, the construction suits can't retrieve a fully assembled generator. It's too big."

"They got it out here."

"They did, but it was in pieces. We'd need something bigger and stronger to help. The _Church_ might be powerful enough…or a mobile suit—a true mobile suit." Their eyes locked again.

Noin handed him the radio. It was the only way. It was going to hurt and she wasn't even sure she could do it, and it was still the only way.

"Keep in touch," she said. "I'm going back to the village."

Toya knew her well enough not to argue; he accepted she had a plan and took the radio. The instant it left her hand, Noin was tearing across the campsite for her shuttle.

Her shuttle was faster than the _Maxwell Church_. There was no need to contend with the airlocks. This solution was a messy one, but as she made the decision, the pieces came together in her head. She could see the end. It hinged on the power of the Tallgeese and if it remained flightworthy. It was fueled and well-maintained yet had lain cold in the shuttlecraft for months. It was fast and heavy and she had never flown it herself. She was the flight instructor. It was not beyond her ability, but she knew the price this mobile suit asked of its pilots and she had only known two.

Fortunately, the third incarnation was refit to be less devastating to the pilot. And she happened to have access to the designer. Inside her shuttle, she slapped on a headset and fired the engines, forgoing the preflight for battle conditions. "Noin to Starfall, someone put me through to Howard. He's probably with Duo."

"I'm here, Miss Noin," Howard said seconds later. By then she had the shuttle airborne and en route to the Village. She was as fast as the Lightning Count when she needed to be.

"Howard, I'm taking Tallgeese out to help them. Can you tell me if…" she couldn't form the question.

"You'll have a rough time of it, but you've got the chops girl, I know it. What, you didn't bring your Taurus?"

"No time for jokes, Howard. I need to know if I can fire it up after six months cold. Is it up to rough treatment?"

"It's up for anything. You're going to have to get it standing on your own—we don't have any support crews for those things anymore."

"Tell me about it," she growled as the Village came into view. Fortunately, they were working close in today. She landed at her usual spot just in time to see the medical shuttles take off.

"Why didn't you ask Zechs?" Howard said.

She knew he already knew why. "He's busy. And I don't want him to worry about it."

"He won't."

"He might," she countered. It was that overprotective streak of his. He was going to beat himself up about this anyway. "Zechs will think it is his fault if I get hurt. It isn't important that he knows about it now. I want him to think about how to keep the generator crew alive if I can't…" she paused to remove the unseemly shake from her voice, "If I can't get them out."

"You'll get 'em. I've never been to a royal wedding and I'm not missing this one."

"Howard," Noin whispered as she shut down the shuttle engines. "I can't think about that and do what I have to now. Please…?"

"All right, Miss Noin," he said and she was pleased to hear her wartime title. It helped. Until this was over, she could not think about stars or the prince or the engagement ring missing from her hand. She did not fly with rings on before so that was a good thing. These were parts of a life a soldier could not touch.

The Tallgeese remained in the old shuttle they took to Mars, encased in a shipping container, and mercifully intact. At the time she did not ask why he brought it; it was his choice. Perhaps he did not want to leave it behind on Earth as evidence of his presence or held up as a symbol of his past. It might have seemed fitting to take it into the afterlife with him. Maybe it was appreciation for the last mobile suit, the design Howard scrapped and Zechs resurrected. It served them well against the Mariemaia Army; it was logical he may not wish to see it destroyed along with the Gundams. It did not matter. It was here.

Noin knew she was going to have to destroy the container and likely the shuttle to get the mobile suit out. In the old days, this might even have been considered…fun.

Inside the shuttle it was dark and cold; she turned on basic life-support so she could see where she was going. The container rested in the hold—a very specific piece of equipment for transporting these giant machines. At the hatch she hesitated, knowing what opening this particular box was going to do. Then she opened it, knowing what was going to happen if she didn't.

"Lucrezia…?" she had forgotten the headset. Zechs…

"Yes…?" she narrowly avoided adding the 'sir.' The shards of old fear bit at the edge of her memory, tearing its way in. She stopped it. If she must relive it, then she'd save it for later. Taking a deep breath, she crept into the container and touched the cold metal of the suit.

"They cannot get the suits here fast enough. It is unlikely…"

"I'm getting something to help. Stand by." The princess regretted the cold indifference in her voice, but the soldier was in command. The familiar whir of the hatch opening took her back…and she was standing at Lake Victoria, worrying as he ordered the heavy old mobile suit assembled in her maintenance bay…

Once again, she shoved the memory back to be dealt with later.

"Will you keep this channel open?" he asked and a stab of sorrow so intense she almost cried out arrowed through her chest.

"Yes, but I'm going to be busy in a minute…"

"That is all right. Just stay…"

It was intolerable that Zechs should be asking her to stay. Furious, Noin climbed awkwardly over the metal plating and tumbled into the familiar confines of the mobile suit's pilot's chair. Except this one…it was not familiar, not at all… Everything was bigger, heavier, and light on hardware. He never flew by instrumentation alone. She knew that. She didn't either, but her Taurus was configured for her as this Tallgeese was for him and she had never flown it. Still, as she crawled trembling into the chair, her fingers found the correct position on the pads. Everything was probably under her control. Eyes shut, she visualized the preflight. She began at the top of the checklist, seeing the acronyms in her mind's eye. They used to practice these things in school over and over and over again until it was ingrained in muscle memory. After a point, she did not need to think at all. She was tripping switches and bringing up screen after screen, system after system, as if the war were only yesterday.

The interior flared to brilliant light. She opened up the other screens to get a good view of the task ahead. It wasn't as difficult as it seemed. If the engines fired, she was going to wreck the place—might as well do it all the way.

Noin's fingertip hesitated over the switch to fire the auxiliary engines. This was the trick to get the suit standing. A hanger had cranes for this or a smart pilot did not park a suit this way, but the stowed Tallgeese was on its back. No matter. It was a robot and it would move where she told it to. The only question was if the cold engines lit or caught fire. Time was a factor. Noin inhaled and punched the button.

A familiar roar drowned out fear and she yelled in relief. It was working. Of course it was working. He'd never leave it in a state where it wasn't. It was Zechs's paranoia that things were stalking him in the dead of night. Tallgeese was on Mars because fourteen years ago the Alliance came to Sanc. Noin pushed the engine to maximum and rotated the thrusters to push the suit out of the container.

Metal screeched. The shuttle rocked around her, but Noin did not feel it. The Tallgeese righted itself and, before it could flatten the shuttle, Noin opened up the main engines and took it off the ground.

The interior microphones exploded with sound as the runway crew realized what they were seeing. It must have been shocking. Noin did not have time to ponder it. It was all she could do to keep the thing airborne. It was as heavy and awkward as expected; that didn't mean she was having an easy time of it. The big suit dragged at her, yearning for sky. With another shout, this one for courage, she launched.

The speed…it knocked her breathless. A wave of panic hit her at the same time she realized she couldn't breathe. This was what Zechs meant when he said that it hurt. A Taurus did not reach these speeds. Epyon did not. Wing might have; she was in too much pain to care…and Duo was yelling in her ear.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"Stand…by…telescope…" her voice broke as she gasped for air. "I'm…going…to…get…them."

"You should have asked me!"

"It's…Zechs's suit…"

"God damn it, Noin," Duo said and it sounded like he was laughing although she was in no position to determine that for sure. Every muscle in her body was loudly protesting this treatment and her mind was racing to remember the manual commands for a mobile suit in flight. There was no autopilot on the Tallgeese. It was all up to the pilot. It was all in her hands.

_Another memory, this one of deep space and glittering stars, rose up to meet her. Somehow she got the Taurus to move this fast…she forgot what she did. Glass was breaking. She put on her helmet. Relena…Relena…I'll go get him… Take him somewhere he will be safe. No, not to Earth…please don't take him to Earth. She remembered begging…and she was a soldier of Treize. She did not beg. The captain promised, "I will take him to my friend..."_

"Noin…! You're almost on top of them!" Duo exclaimed in her ear. The memory vanished as if it had never been. Below her, on the screen, she saw the tipping generator and the crumbling rocks. She saw the terra crew scrambling to get away from the descending mobile suit. She saw Toya, frozen on the plain, eyes locked in surprise on the Tallgeese.

Noin dove and at the end of the dive was the generator. The Tallgeese reached it just as it began to slide. Catching it with both metal hands, she immediately reversed the main engines and opened them up as far as they'd go. She knew instantly she could not pull it back, but she could halt the slide. "DUO!" she screamed into the headset. "Get the other suits here fast!"

"Three minutes!" he yelled back.

"Zechs…! I've got you!" She whispered fiercely, hearing an echo in the memory. _I've got you and I won't let you go no matter what…please hang on. I can't lose you both. We need you._

Noin did not understand the memory, but she had no time to try. Now that she had stopped it was easier to control the suit. Unlike a shuttle, mobile suits did not want to stay airborne. They only flew because of multiple powerful engines and pilots quick enough to coordinate all of the necessary movements. It wasn't something just anyone could learn to do. Knowing she was one of the few that could gave her strength.

The _Maxwell Church _appeared on her left screen, flying low over the surface. It looked so big. Her headset clicked and a new channel opened. Toya's image appeared on a new screen. "Hold tight; Howard just reported the guys at geo think we'll have aftershocks."

"I'm here," Noin said for lack of anything better. There was no comfort here, not yet. The suit worked, the result still burned clear in her mind, and any new variable changed things.

Zechs called in. "What happened? What's that sound? We're not moving."

"I told you," she managed a half-smile, "I got something to help. I'm…holding it back with…" she winced, "Tallgeese until Duo gets here…?"

The silence that followed was processing and endless. Finally, he said, "I…would not have thought of that."

"Toya did, actually."

"I had no idea it was possible," added the astronomer, somewhat gleefully. "I should have expected this."

"I didn't," Zechs said and Noin felt a rush of relief; he was not angry. The smile in his voice was as bright and relieved as Toya's.

"You two are full of surprises," Toya continued…as the ground gave way under her feet.

What happened next was too fast even for Tallgeese. The _Church _roared overhead, reaching out with robot arms meant to catch space junk. The sizable ship caught the generator and the mobile suit with it, dragging them away from the deepening crevasse. Noin cut power to her engines so the mobile suit wouldn't damage the Sweeper ship and felt something else grab at her. Duo and Toya yelled simultaneous warnings just before she hit something…hard.

The screens flickered and dimmed. A rush of red dust blocked them out. Noin had no idea what was happening except it looked like the mountain—the one with the nice lava tube they spent all morning exploring and the glittering cave—was coming apart around her.

"Zechs…!" she called involuntarily, more frightened than she wanted to be. The steady sound of the _Church's _engines surrounded her. The prince did not answer—likely he could not. Her communications system was faltering and the suit was losing power. Noin threw a few switches and checked her back-ups. The suit was weak from storage in the shuttle for so long. She was sorry she ever brought it out; sorry it was going to be damaged like this in a situation that was not a battle. It didn't seem fair except for it giving its life to protect its true pilot one more time. "I'm sorry," she told Tallgeese as Mars shuddered and rattled around her.

As quickly as it hit, the quake stopped. Silence filled the darkened cockpit. Noin could not restore power. Did she need to? Had Duo caught the generator? Had he brought the other mobile suits in time?

Carefully, she opened the hatch. Warm red daylight flowed in. followed by a shower of dust and rocks. She was startled to hear the hatch hit ground. Remaining sensors told her the Tallgeese remained on its feet.

She extricated herself from the harness slowly, bruised muscles slowing her progress, and crawled to the opening. The landscape had completely changed. It seemed this whole side of the mountain had fallen. A rockslide… Her heart plummeted. Oh no…it was all for nothing because she had buried them somehow…

Then she saw the ocean generator, safely on the ground in front of Tallgeese, surrounded by the terra team.

Relief flooded her, so intense it took an effort to get to her feet. Noin staggered out of the suit, picking her way over the rocks on wobbly knees until she was within range of the rest of the team. She saw Kieran helping others out of the battered generator. She could see the tears in the metal where the Tallgeese caught it. And Zechs, battered, bleeding, and dragging Ember in Lucrezia's direction…

"Zechs…!" she tried to run to him, but her body was finished with these antics. Her knees crumbled almost at once. She hit the dirt, landing hard on her side. The jolt hurt worse than she expected. Ember got to her first.

_Please keep him safe! Don't tell anyone! Keep him safe for me. I'm the Duchess of Rome and Treize Khushrenada's friend…_ Ember's long curls brushed Noin's face as the doctor held her. Voices she recognized and couldn't remember filled her head. One of them might have been her own.

"Lucrezia…" Zechs's startled voice was the final thing she heard before the panic took over…

* * *

><p>She woke on one of the cots in the hospital. Zechs stood in front of her as if to guard her. Even though his back was to her, she read everything she needed from the tension in his shoulders. He was cleaner, probably had time for a shower, her adrenaline-addled brain noted, and dressed in a set of Rhodri's dark blue scrubs. They were a bit too short for him.<p>

"That's unacceptable, Zechs," Kieran said. Lucrezia only noticed him when he spoke. Zechs really was trying to keep himself between her and the terra team leader.

"Toya was right! The construction suits alone were insufficient and she got there faster than the _Church._"

"We should have waited for the _Church_, then! I can't allow weapons on this colony."

"It was my error not to tell you. I apologize for that. The Tallgeese was not armed."

"Then why did you bring it?"

"It was appropriate to remove it from the Earth Sphere…"

"You just can't admit you aren't ready to let it go, are you?"

"Shut the hell up!" Ember's voice hissed from someplace close. "What kind of behavior is this in a hospital?" She strode in, shoving Kieran aside. "Go—fight about it outside!" she snapped.

Kieran accepted the shove and then his eyes fell on Lucrezia. He hesitated, outrage replaced by worry. "Princess…? Are you all right?"

"Apart from the noise, I'm…" Lucrezia began—only to be accosted by her prince and her doctor respectively. Zechs hugged her so tight she cried out. Apparently, the Tallgeese left bruises.

"Back off, featherhead," Ember told Zechs. "Give me some space."

Reluctantly, Zechs obeyed, but he stayed seated on the edge of the cot, holding one of Lucrezia's hands. Ember had the other one, checking vitals. "Still feeling any chest pain…?"

"What chest pain…?"

"You don't remember?"

"I don't remember much of anything when that happens," Lucrezia felt her face burn red. She did not really want Kieran to hear this, but if it would keep him from beating up on Zechs, perhaps it was worth it.

Ember scowled. "Kieran, will you give us a minute?"

"Of course," he said. With a sigh, he looked at Zechs. "We're going to talk about this."

"Agreed," Zechs replied without taking his eyes from Lucrezia. Kieran sighed again and left.

Lucrezia watched after him, unsettled. "What did I miss? How mad is he?"

"He'll get over it," Ember interrupted before Zechs could answer. Lucrezia suspected the doctor was trying to keep her calm.

"It won't work, Ember. I need to know what just happened."

"Kieran is afraid Zechs is going to use Tallgeese to take over the colony by force, or similar. Kieran has been reading far too many propaganda messages from the new weapon-free Earth Sphere," Ember snorted. "He'll get over it," she repeated.

Zechs nodded. "You saved us. That generator was going over and there was no way any of those other ships were going to make it in time. That…was amazing," he was grinning like a loopy schoolboy and that only embarrassed her further.

Ember snapped her out of it. "So, how long have you been having panic attacks?" she said sternly.

There was no point in lying. "I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress back on Earth."

"Treating it with anything…?"

"Meditation, rest, and no, I'm not taking any antidepressants or other drugs," she replied, knowing that's what Ember would want. All of the doctors wanted the same thing, to dope her up until past and present were a blur. And she tried it for a while, in the earliest days after Treize's funeral when waking up hurt too much and falling asleep at night a trial. Relena had saved her by giving her responsibility for Sanc. When she became princess, she stopped taking the prescriptions. The drugs disrupted her battle-sense, deprived her of the ability to see and Sanc did not deserve a leader blindly wandering through the dark. "And I'm not taking anything again, so don't ask."

Ember stared at her for a long time before answering, "All right. I guess that means I'm officially keeping an eye on you both." She turned to Zechs. "Shall I make the same deal with you that you did with her? You will tell me if she is not taking care of this?"

"I'm taking care of her," Zechs said stubbornly, to which Ember only rolled her eyes.

"Lucrezia, you can go home. I want you to stay there and rest for the remainder of the day. If I hear you've gone to the office, I'll reassign you here to keep an eye on you personally. This is non-negotiable. Panic attacks mimic heart attacks in their symptoms—frankly, you scared me."

"Ember…Wait, Zechs what happened to the Tallgeese?" Lucrezia stiffened. She had just left it there.

"Well, that's interesting," Zechs chuckled. He picked up a tablet lying next to the bed and selected an image to show her. The white mobile suit remained where the earthquake stopped it, buried almost to the chest in red rock. Lucrezia blinked at it in horror.

"Oh no…I'm so sorry. I…destroyed your mobile suit!"

Zechs began to laugh and dropped the tablet to hug her again. "Lucrezia, I'm not mad. In fact, this solves Kieran's problem if he's really that worried. I promise, you did the right thing."

"You should be mad," she said rebelliously into his shoulder. This was the kind of thing her cranky Lightning Count was supposed to get angry at. What had happened here?

* * *

><p>Ember evicted them from her hospital then, mumbling about mobile suit pilots never listening. They slipped back to their apartment unnoticed. Zechs actually ordered her upstairs to sleep and Lucrezia was still too deep in soldier-mode to argue. He was right—Ember was right. Adrenaline paired with fear was too much for her to want to stay awake. Lucrezia was more than willing to curl up in a ball under warm down comforters for a few hours.<p>

She woke to voices at the stairs—Zechs, of course, and Duo and Hilde, Howard, Ember, Rhodri, Toya, Jomi, Kylie, and Dave? It sounded like most of the crew was down there…and the campfire band that still hadn't picked a name.

The room was dark. The glittering view of Starfall that lulled her to sleep every night shone through the window. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling as the last vestiges of her dream dissipated. She'd been dreaming of the captain and the favor she begged, but what were they? What captain? What favor? Since when had she ever begged for anything? The idea got her seething so she pushed it away for later scrutiny. It seemed like it happened to someone else. Perhaps she had read something, fallen asleep while going over a report, or heard a snatch of another person's war story at one of the campfires. Dreams were funny creatures—little stories manufactured by the subconscious. It was better to let it go.

Lucrezia pulled on a black LVA jacket and track pants and went downstairs to see what was going on. Zechs was leaning on the kitchen counter, looking a little dejected until he saw her. He was immediately at her side, offering her a subtle shoulder to lean on should she need it. Lucrezia found it was possible to walk unassisted yet took his arm anyway because…she could.

"Feeling better?" Ember asked.

"Considerably..."

"That was the best rescue ever!" Duo exclaimed. "Too bad we can't do it again. Looks like that mobile suit isn't going anywhere soon."

"A mountain fell on it," Lucrezia agreed, eyes shut in humiliation. Of all the things to happen to one of the Earth Sphere's most famous machines…Zechs might not be mad, but she was still feeling guilty.

"What is going on?" she asked to change the subject.

"We came to see you," Howard said, "Wanted to make sure you were okay. That was something today."

There was no changing the subject. Lucrezia surrendered with a shake of her head. "It was impulsive and scary. May we please talk about something else?"

"Anything," Duo said, "But first I wanted to tell you that Hilde and I are heading back to Earth for a bit to take care of something. Will you be okay without us for a few weeks?"

"You're kidding, right?" Zechs said.

"Yeah, well, it's my weekend with the other side of the family," Duo shot back. "Gotta check in with Relena and tell her about the Tallgeese in the mountain. She'll get a kick out of this one."

"Leave out the part where we almost died, would you?" Zechs requested just as a knock on the door announced another guest.

"Why would I? Aren't you already dead?" Duo retorted.

Howard was closest; he opened it to let Kieran in. The terra team leader glanced around at the room full of people and paled a little. Lucrezia felt her heart plunge. It hurt. Her hand flew to her chest before he spoke.

Kieran looked like he'd rather be stuck in the plummeting generator. "I don't want to tell you this, but I have new orders from Fell Evershade… I'm supposed to remove you from your position at the Village until they find out why you brought a mobile suit here."

"Really, Kieran?" said Toya angrily. "You had to bring this up?"

"I didn't have a choice! I had to report the loss of the generator. Look, I'm not going to do it. I told them I'd follow up and that's it. I'm following up. There isn't anyone else I'd want to replace you with anyway, so forget it. If I didn't tell you, though, that wouldn't be right…" he trailed off. "I'm sorry," he finished lamely. "I don't think this is fair…and I'm not doing it."

"It isn't fair," Toya grumped. "If Zechs and Lucrezia hadn't brought the telescopes here, you'd still be setting up atmosphere."

"I know!" Kieran snapped. "Aren't you listening? I'm trying to help."

"I have no problem stepping down if it will…" Zechs began and everyone interrupted at once.

"Absolutely not," Duo shouted over all the protests. "You can't quit… Relena is coming here."

Another stab of pain hit her in the chest and Lucrezia backed up a step and into Zechs. It was like striking a wall—he seemed to have turned to ice with shock.

"What…what did you just say?"

"That's why we're going back. Relena requested it. You can't quit. She is openly supporting you for leadership of this colony. Fell Evershade doesn't have the final word." Duo folded his arms across his chest. "You can't quit," he said again, "and if you do, I'm telling your sister."

"Why is she coming?" Lucrezia ventured as she surreptitiously checked to see if Zechs was still breathing. He'd gone so still she couldn't tell.

Duo grinned from ear to ear. "She said something about…planning a royal wedding…"

* * *

><p>AN: I'm researching royal weddings to help Relena out... Interesting stuff. Google "marriage banns" to learn about what Relena was reading at church.<p>

November is fast approaching and you know what that means: National Novel Writing Month! Hope many of you are signed up. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundams Wing, Deathsycthe, Epyon, or Tallgeese, let alone their pilots Heero, Duo, Zechs, Noin, Treize, and/or Howard. Same goes for Relena and Hilde. The terra crew is still mine-please don't be too mad at Kieran. He didn't really fire Zechs and Noin. Toya sends his love and would like to take you all out for margaritas, but Howard already drank them.

Soundtrack for this chapter: Dropkick Murphys -"Going Out in Style"

Beer for this chapter: Samuel Adams Octoberfest


	8. Negotiations

Negotiations

Space

Hilde roused Relena out of a dream of a desk stacked high with documents, each one requiring her attention. She was slogging through them and wondering why when Hilde knocked on her door. "I'm sorry to wake you, Miss Relena, but there is a call from Fell Evershade Biomed and she won't wait."

Relena brushed off the apology with a smile as she sat up in the bunk. "Don't worry. I didn't like that dream anyway." She had enough work to do when she was awake; dreaming about it was just twisting the knife. The upside was that this far out, on the way to Mars, no one could bother her without jumping through a lot of hoops. The past week was a bit of a dream in itself.

The downside was, those who bothered to make the effort really wanted to talk to her. Relena had been dodging Angharad Fell Evershade's calls since before they left Earth. She knew what it was about and until she got to Mars she was not authorizing any changes. She said as much in the email, but it was obvious that wasn't going to appease Angharad. It was time to bring on the diplomacy.

"Good day, Miss Fell Evershade," Relena said into the quiet of the cabin. A light on the bulkhead indicated Hilde had already put the call through.

"Miss Relena," the cool, slightly Irish, voice of the company president filled the room. "I apologize for waking you, but I'm on my way to a meeting and I have to make an announcement regarding the Mars situation. I appreciate your willingness to travel all the way out there to make a determination for yourself…however the time has come to make a final decision."

"I disagree. I'm not making any decisions concerning Mars until I'm standing on it. You can delay until I arrive."

"The simple fact is he brought a mobile suit to a peaceful colony. I can't allow that."

"Nothing to that effect is in the colony charter."

"Relena," Angharad dropped the formalities and Relena pictured her standing in her posh gold and white office, staring at the blank screen with folded arms and narrowed eyes. Angharad was always impeccably dressed, even for a voice only call. Relena wore sweats and a t-shirt—her shipboard uniform for the past few days.

"Angharad…" Relena replied into the silence.

"I know he is your brother. You feel a certain responsibility for him. I understand that. My brother is on Mars, too. The thing is, this project is bigger than that. We have to do what is best for the colony and right now, that is removing Milliardo or Zechs or whatever he calls himself today from a position of responsibility in Starfall Village."

Relena closed her eyes. "As I have said before, Angharad, there is insufficient evidence to compel me to do that."

"The presence of the mobile suit is evidence enough."

"And I disagree," Relena repeated. A headache was emerging between her eyes. Between the long time in space and the lack of sleep, her patience was thinner than usual. She did not feel like humoring the voice in the darkness. "I won't sign off until I speak to him."

"Then I have no choice but to pull our resources from this project."

Relena was afraid of that. "Listen, Angharad, what good will that do? Mars is the only place you can test the atmospheric conversion process at this time."

"Earth's moon is an alternate location."

"It isn't the best one. Kieran has the process underway already. It will be to your detriment to stop now. It's an empty threat, Angharad."

"No, it isn't. It is very important to us to continue this project. I should think such a threat would convince you how serious I am."

It did, but Relena was not going to tell her that. They were only a day and a half away from the planet. Relena was closer to answers than Angharad. "Give me time to ascertain the true nature of the situation. Let me see if he is doing anything dangerous. I promise you I'll sign off if he is."

"I wish I could trust you."

"It's my project, too," Relena reminded her. "I've done as much work setting it up as you have providing the technology. "

"And you let your brother take over. What does that tell me?"

"It should tell you I have faith in him—enough that I'd trust him with a project this important to the future of the Earth Sphere."

"It tells me your loyalties might be blind. I have to protect my resources, too."

"Understood," Relena sighed, rubbing at her sleep-tumbled hair. "I ask you to please consider holding off on any permanent policy decision until I get to Mars. I will contact you then." She waved her hand over the bulkhead sensor to end the call.

* * *

><p>Mars<p>

"Perhaps they have a point," Heero commented as they waited for the _Maxwell Church_ to dock at the supply ship. "He isn't the most politically expedient choice."

"No, he isn't," Relena was forced to agree. Her brother was a point of contention in her work more often than she cared to admit. As her self-appointed bodyguard, Heero knew this whether she liked it or not. It was pointless to try political spin with Heero. Zechs was a…complication at the least.

"I have to give him a chance, Heero," she said quietly. "He has risked a great deal for me. And there is one thing we cannot overlook, that Fell Evershade does not know to take into account…"

"Noin," Heero nodded.

They waited by the airlock, surrounded by a small mountain of luggage, until Duo came striding in. "Ready to go…?"

"Yes," Relena smiled. "Do you think all of this will fit on one shuttle?"

Duo eyed the crates. "We'll send another just in case. By the way, she is going to kill you. Can I be there when you give her the dress?"

"I hardly think she will be angry, Duo. She told me she did not know where she was going to get a wedding dress," Relena chided as the captain of the _Maxwell Church _stepped over to open the door.

"I got her a perfectly good dress and she yelled at me," Duo said as the airlock hissed open.

Relena rolled her eyes. "That is because the dress you got her was hot pink and three sizes too big."

"She didn't specify color!" Duo argued.

"Apart from the incorrect sizing...wedding dresses are not hot pink, Duo! You used to live in a church. How could you possibly not know that?"

"Hey, this is the frontier, Relena. We have to survive out here—sometimes ya gotta make do with what you can scrounge up."

"Well, I am not letting the future Queen of the Sanc Kingdom be married in some scrounged up dress. This gown was made especially for her by one of the most famous designers in the Earth Sphere."

"I still think she is going to kill you," Duo predicted. The station door slid open then and Relena took a deep breath. It was time.

She wanted to think of this as a vacation, a personal visit to the only surviving members of her birth family, but her time in the political arena guided her first steps onto Martian territory. It was only her interest that brought her family here. The project existed separate from them. The Vice Foreign Minister would have made this trip anyway to see for herself the progress made on the first-ever terraforming colony.

Relena was not entirely sure she could be as objective as she promised Angharad…especially when she caught sight of the raven-haired girl waiting for them near a silver shuttle. Dressed in black and red, the official colony patch displayed on her right sleeve, and a diamond the size of a robin's egg shining in the dim station lights, she huddled over a tablet with an older woman in a similar uniform. From her toffee colored curls and Duo's detailed reports, Relena guessed that this was the doctor—Ember. Ember, who had saved her brother's life after Epyon fell… Relena stopped.

Heero paused with her and caught her arm to steady her if she needed it. Ignoring Relena's sudden stage fright, Duo bounded past them, yelling "Hey! We're back! And wait until you see what we brought."

Lucrezia looked up. The second she saw Relena, she shoved the tablet into Ember's hands and started running. Relena had an impression of sparkling violet eyes and the brightest smile she had ever seen Miss Noin wear before her former bodyguard collided with her in a bone-crushing hug. Lucrezia was small, yet really…really strong. Relena had forgotten that. Of course she was. Lucrezia was one of very few women that chose to fly the big mobile suits. She had to be strong and quick to survive.

"You really came!" Lucrezia cried. "I thought it might be too far for you to get away."

"I write my own schedule. I'm not missing your wedding," Relena smiled. Lucrezia finally let her go. Relena stepped back and added, "Your hair is longer."

"Oh, I haven't found time to cut it," Lucrezia shrugged, self-consciously smoothing a raven lock behind her ear. It was not that much longer—the rest of it just matched the length of her bangs now—but that was saying something for the committed soldier-girl. Between the longer hair and the dazzling ring, Lucrezia looked a little more like a princess than she had before.

She did, of course, have a princess's manners. Lucrezia greeted Heero, welcomed them both to Mars, introduced Ember, and offered to carry Relena's bags to the shuttle. When she saw the stacks of crates in addition to the expected luggage, her violet eyes widened a bit. "We…might need to send another shuttle up," she said politely rather than comment.

"I brought you a gift," Relena said mischievously, watching the princess ponder this. It was obvious she was dying to ask and only those perfect manners kept her from doing so. "Yes, it is a wedding gift," she added, "but that is all I'm telling you now."

"I wanna be there when you open it," Duo added.

They boarded the shuttle with Relena and Heero's personal luggage in tow; Duo stayed behind to get the rest of the containers sent down. Relena entered the shuttle with butterflies in her stomach…only to find it empty.

As if reading her mind, Lucrezia said, "He's working. I'm dropping Ember off and picking him up. Zechs did not forget you were arriving today."

"Of course he is busy," Relena said lightly. "I do not want to interrupt…"

"It is no interruption," Lucrezia countered. "He is looking forward to seeing you."

"Are you certain…?" Relena could not stop herself from asking. Now that she was here, about to fly to the Martian surface and actually see Starfall Village for the first time, she wondered if she should have simply stayed on Earth instead and asked for more pictures.

Lucrezia nodded and slid into her pilot's chair. "He can't wait. He sends his apologies for not being her to see you off the ship, but we have a tough schedule to keep and few shuttles. This is just how it worked out. Don't worry."

Relena nodded confidently, but as the shuttle dropped to the surface she found herself squeezing Heero's hand until the usually stoic pilot flinched…

* * *

><p>AN: Super-short update tonight. Woah, NaNoWriMo has me busy. :) I'll be splitting things up into shorter pieces for a little bit. I'm still experimenting with the best way to keep up with a story like this. When I originally planned Starfall, it was supposed to have shorter chapters than the ones I have been posting. This one and the first two are closer to the length I had in mind.<p>

As usual, thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, Hilde, Duo, Lucrezia Noin, Heero Yuy, Relena Darlian Peacecraft, or Milliardo Peacecraft OR Zechs Merquise [or whatever he is calling himself today. :) ]


	9. Sanc Kingdom's Gift

AN: This is the second part of Relena's section and my favorite of the two. Lucrezia receives a present and Zechs a challenge. Let's get this band back on stage, shall we?

Mars  
>Sanc Kingdom's Gift<p>

Relena was happier than she ever remembered.

She had sugar on her lips and grease on her fingers. A deep scrape on her left palm stung every time she touched it to her icy cold mug of beer. Her right knee was swollen from falling down a hill into one of the lava tubes. She was so tired she longed to sleep for days and so awake she could not imagine sleeping ever again.

Across from her at the long wooden banquet table, Heero and Duo played a game where each tossed coins into their beer glasses and drank depending on where the coins landed. She knew the object was to get the coin in the glass before you drank, but the boys drank regardless of where the coins ended up. The longer she watched, the more coins rolled off the table to land in the red dust.

Howard stood at the foot of the table, regaling everyone who would listen with a tale of catching a huge blue fish off the coast of one of the Florida Keys. He missed his boat, he said, but as long as he was here on Mars, he'd make the most of it. Besides, the project was far enough along, soon he would have a whole ocean to sail upon.

Relena listened to the story in bits and pieces, her head fuzzy from the delicious homemade beer, the rowdy and cheerful music blasting from the stage, and the not one bit fancy dinner. It was only burgers, steaks, and fries brought in on Sweeper ships, but it was grilled over open flame and some of the colonists could do amazing things with only a few spices. This was the first state dinner ever hosted in her honor when she did not have to give a speech and could simply sit back and watch. No one had even asked for a speech, certainly not her brother or Lucrezia, both sitting at the head of the table. They listened to Howard's story with diplomatic attention. Lucrezia's eyes were wide with interest at the process of catching a big fish; Milliardo sat quietly, observing the gathering through half-lidded blue eyes and approving slight smile. This was how she saw him every day; it was infuriatingly undefinable.

The entire trip to Mars she fretted over this first peacetime meeting with her mysterious older brother. She reread the unauthorized biography hoping for a bit of information to help, but none of it turned out to be true. He was not megalomaniacal or given to fits of rage over his appearance. He did not have eyes for anyone except his bride-to-be unlike the story claimed. And the Tallgeese really was half-buried in a mountain and not likely ever to be used in combat again…unless they could figure out a way to dig it out and fuel it.

Their first encounter, in fact, was a smile and an invitation to dinner; Milliardo did not mention White Fang or anything that had happened since. It was as if it were a dream and she the dreamer. Perhaps she had forgotten something, but she did not think so. Milliardo wanted to show her the colony. The past week had been a whirl of visits, demonstrations, and meetings.

She climbed mountains and explored lava tubes with the terra crew. They gave her a tour of one of the infamous—and awe inducing—ocean generators that were at this minute collaborating with similar atmospheric machines to generate water and breathable atmosphere. Kieran Fell Evershade spent an entire day teaching her equations, theories, and chemical breakdowns of the process of turning one planet into another. Relena was lost, but intrigued by his enthusiasm enough that the day flew by as fast as the one she spent with Doctor Toya Kiri at the telescopes.

Toya took her to the orbiting scope and showed her the huge one under construction on the tallest regional mountain peak. He set up various smaller models to show her the stars he wanted to look at longer, the nebulas that held ancient secrets, and the planets he hoped to be able to prove were capable of sustaining life if only he could get a better look.

The doctors were the most fun; Ember and Rhodri Lee Sunwing made her their assistant for a day, showing how they ran a remote colony hospital. She saw all manner of scrapes, cuts, and bruises from various construction incidents. They brushed off all her attempts to thank them for saving her brother's life as if it were a thing they did each day. Ember showed off a greenhouse bursting with roses she cultivated in her spare time. Rhodri was adapting mobile suit technology to artificial limbs, tinkering at night in a workroom stocked with parts gleaned by the Sweepers. Relena had looked up their official records and found them sobering—that of career flight surgeons that rode out the war steadfastly putting broken OZ pilots back together again and again. Mars was a haven for them after those things.

Even Heero appeared to be having a good time, trailing after her on all her visits and investigations. Duo came with them sometimes. Everyone knew Duo and his spaceship crew—apparently he wasn't going home very often. Howard had moved here permanently, taking up residence at the Little Telescope building where he was usually found lounging in a chair on the roof next to a whirring blender mixing margaritas and arguing over star charts with Toya. Heero fit into this as well as Heero fit into anything…a bit awkward at first, yet he persisted for her sake and was bewildered by it. Relena did not feel the need for a bodyguard here with Milliardo hovering and Heero's social awkwardness was compounded by proximity to his sometime nemesis. It was easier if Heero scouted around with Duo and reported back; besides, this was a vacation.

Fell Evershade Biomed had called every day since she touched down in Starfall. Relena had yet to return any of the calls. She was certain Angharad had not followed through on her threat. There was a conversation Relena needed to have with Milliard before she talked to Angharad again, but Milliard had so far avoided the talk. She knew he suspected the content.

He was not precisely avoiding her; Lucrezia would never allow that anyway. However, if she mentioned the leadership or Earth politics, Milliardo immediately produced another scientist for her to meet. As Heero pointed out that morning, they were running out of scientists. The conversation could not be avoided forever.

Again she looked over at her brother. Howard was telling him another big fish story. He mimed reeling the fish into the boat and fighting it on the deck. Milliardo listened, but when he saw Relena's eyes on him, turned his head a bit and smiled. His smile was calm and friendly. Firelight shone in his light eyes. She wished she knew how to say what she needed to say. She reminded herself she was a diplomat. Words were her particular weapons. It was time to simply come out and say it. She had seen all of Mars she needed to in order to make a decision.

* * *

><p>Lucrezia, she understood. Relena was not bewildered by the princess. They had spent enough time together with Lucrezia in the bodyguard role now held by Heero. On the first day of her visit, she brought Lucrezia the gift, four trunks—three large and one small one—embossed with the Sanc Kingdom coat of arms. She had them all delivered with some grandeur to the Village office while Milliardo was about on other business. Relena intended to keep with tradition.<p>

Lucrezia eyed the fine trunks with suspicion. As promised, Duo was there to witness the event. When the princess could not guess the contents of the trunks, Relena said, "This is a gift from the people of the Sanc Kingdom with best wishes for a happy wedding day." Duo held his breath as Relena opened the most important trunk.

The princess walked around the big round table to look, eyes bright. The anger that Duo expected never happened. Lucrezia stood staring into the trunk with hands open by her sides, stunned. "Relena…it's amazing," she said, voice trembling.

The gift was a wedding dress, custom designed for the princess. Relena lifted the gown from the trunk with great care. She had rushed the process a bit from the time she read the marriage banns to the day she left for Mars and yet the finished gown was as spectacular as she hoped. The schedule was close for finishing a dress of this kind. She chose designers equal to the challenge. They worked day and night on the shimmering white satin and lace so it would be perfect when Lucrezia first saw it and stretched out a tentative fingertip to stroke the soft fabric. "How did you…?"

"It was not easy. We spoke to the designers that made your gowns last year and looked at dozens of pictures to see what you liked. Fortunately, they kept your measurements. We hope someone here might have the skill to make adjustments should any be needed. There is some tradition involved as well, in the shape of the neckline and the ribbons. They incorporated the gold and violet embroidery wherever possible…Lucrezia, do you like it?" Relena stopped rambling about dressmaking. Lucrezia looked about to cry. Was this the outburst Duo waited for?

"You like it?" the Sweeper captain said with surprise.

"How could I not?" said Lucrezia.

"I don't know. I don't think of you as the…girly type. Sorry, I don't have a better word."

With a smirk, she said, "I understand. I had to be a certain way for a long time, Duo. This is different. I don't have to pilot anything in this."

"You had better not!" Relena exclaimed in mock dismay. "They've already picked out a spot in the crown jewels collection for it after you wear it. You're not to get even the slightest bit of red dust on it, although I have no idea how to make that happen." She added with a glance at her red-tinged boots. The amount of construction happening day and night covered everything in and around Starfall in a fine sheen of dust. Relena feared all of her clothing would meet the same fate before her trip was over.

"I'm in awe, Relena. This is such a…generous gift."

"You were their favorite," Relena said.

"Oh no, you must have been."

"No, it was you. You stayed. You rebuilt the palace and the roads into the cities. You reopened the beach and thought about the everyday things that make people feel at home. It was the right time for that. What I did was…keep alive the dream of it, I guess. I did the right thing choosing you. You were more of a princess than me."

Lucrezia shook her head while her fingers stroked the dress. "I'm just an old soldier, Relena. That is all."

"That's not all," Relena folded her arms over her chest and glared at Lucrezia. Duo mimicked the pose, but he was smiling. Relena was not. This was the vital thing. "They want you back," she said pointedly.

"Relena, if I could…"

"I know…but I'd be remiss in my duties as Vice Foreign Minister if I did not convey this message from Serena. The country voted twice. They want the monarchy back."

"Then they want you."

"No, they were specific. It is the reason they gave you the dress. The other trunks hold the veil and train, trousseau, shoes, and there is a fifth with your tiara. Heero has that in a safe in his room. The election was held twice because they knew you were happy here, but both outcomes were the same. You were chosen as queen."

Lucrezia tore her eyes from the dress to meet Relena's gaze. "You must tell them I am honored, Miss Vice Foreign Minister," she said formally, "yet I am forced to decline."

"I know," Relena sighed and dropped her hands to her sides in defeat. "I know why, but I promised Serena. I said I'd tell you when I gave you the dress but that you will not return without Milliardo."

"I—I can't, I just can't," Lucrezia said sadly. She placed the dress back in the trunk. "I appreciate the gift. I will wear it and return it without any dust. Well, that may be impossible. I will return it with as little dust as possible, but they will know that I wore it on Mars."

"That will make Serena happy," Relena agreed.

* * *

><p>The morning after the campfire party began late. Relena dragged her wounded body to the cafeteria and collapsed at a corner table with coffee and a bottle of water. Heero was with her in as much as he was present. Otherwise, he was asleep at the other side of the table, head lolling against the back of the chair. It had been demonstrated that Duo was the better drinker.<p>

Head propped on her fist, Relena tried to read the morning's news from the Earth Sphere, but all the headlines ran together in a dull cloud. Nothing there was as amazing as what was going on here, the changing of a cold world to something else. She was tired of watching it from her posh offices as comfortable shuttles. She wanted red dust beneath her nails. She wanted a red jacket of her own with patches and logos and the sense of belonging to a team. It was silly, romantic whimsy. What she was supposed to do was carry out her murdered father's mission of peace. Both fathers…

A silver coffee cup was placed on the table before her, followed by a thick stack of paperwork and she looked up at her brother. Milliardo glanced at Heero. "Is he well?" he asked in his overly polite fashion.

"He drank too much of your planet's homemade beer at the behest of Duo and Howard. I think he will be fine once he sleeps it off," she said with an affectionate smirk for her friend's predicament.

Milliardo took the remaining chair. He was dressed for the workday in the red t-shirt, long black coat, and cargo pants she saw him in nearly every day except for the one they visited the orbiting telescope and they all had to wear spacesuits. A hint of red dust shimmered in his golden hair.

"May I join you?" he asked belatedly. "I seem to have over-slept a bit myself."

"That is fine," Relena said. She sat stiff and formal in her chair, hating how she felt she must impress him, this person who tried to destroy the whole world and who was the only surviving member of her birth family. Why was it so difficult to separate the persona he crafted from the man in front of her, the mischievous blue-eyed older brother calmly sipping coffee and reading status reports on her terraforming project?

"Milliardo," she felt the words rush in too fast to stop them. "I can arrange it for you to be colony leader here. I need you to make a decision before the wedding. I can't be away from Earth much longer than that."

Milliardo watched her over the rim of his silver mug. He placed it back on the table, turning the handle to the correct side. "Relena, I have no particular desire to be colony leader."

"You already are, don't you see that?" Heero snored once and rolled over in the chair, resting his head on the table. She sighed. Milliardo looked amused.

"Lucrezia and I are in charge of the village, nothing more," said Milliardo.

"All week I have watched every scientist and every project here report to you as though you were the leader. They know perfectly well it is not official, yet I lost count of how many people gave me a report or picture and said, 'give this to your brother so he knows what our status is.' They really care what you think."

"It is a courtesy that I did not ask for. We have worked out a system that functions well for Mars."

She took a deep breath for this was treading on unsettled ground. "I am sure you read the news from home from time to time," she said.

He nodded.

"You know that Lucrezia and the President of the Sanc Kingdom along with Doctor Kiri made an agreement to share the results of the observations made with your various telescopes." He nodded again. "President Milan thinks very highly of Lucrezia. She was a bit intimidated taking over for her when she left."

"I have heard her performance as head of state was commendable."

"Milliardo, they loved her!" Relena leaned over the table, shoving his reports aside so she had his full attention. "They loved her and miss her terribly. Since the two of you left, the Sanc Kingdom has voted twice to determine what course of action they will take politically now that both surviving members of the Peacecraft family have chosen other things. Both elections resulted in almost unanimous selection of Lucrezia for queen."

"I have seen the election results," he acknowledged.

"You should be proud of her."

"I am."

Relena said, "Have you ever thought about being king? Really considered it, I mean, not just the fact that you legally have a say in the matter."

He scowled at the coffee mug. "I am not a politically expedient choice for leader of anything, Relena, you must know that. My actions in the past have been designed to achieve a certain goal beyond my self-interest. I decided a long time ago that I was not going to be able to live a normal life."

"That is why you are exactly the right person to be king," she stated and let that sink in for a bit. Milliardo continued to lock eyes with the mug. She gave him a moment before upending his world. It was only polite and he did have excellent manners—the only thing that silly unauthorized biography got right.

"You remember what it was like before, I don't. You devoted your entire life to putting events into motion that led to the liberation of the Sanc Kingdom from the Alliance. You gave up a lot, I know that. You think you are a monster when all you did was act a part."

Milliardo looked up. "That is monstrous."

"No, that is kingly. You acted for the good of our country and beyond our borders. I studied Colonel Treize, too. I get it already." She left it at that. This was not the time to talk about Libra. "I require a promise from you if I am to solve this mess of the Mars leadership. I want you to say that you know you are capable of being king."

"It requires more than that to say one is a good heir to the Peacecraft monarchy, Relena. Father stood for better than that."

"Better than you became…? Top of your class, the best pilot in the world, and devoted to your people so much you thought of nothing else but restoring me to the throne? Oh yes, he would be devastated."

"You were too young…" he began.

"Milliardo, you do not have to do it perfectly. I doubt Father expected that. I don't remember him, but I read about him and Mother. It does not fit that they could hate you." Relena drummed her fingers on the table. "Let me give you a refresher in politics—something I know you know about. Politicians—kings included—sometimes make policy depending upon a desired outcome. The policy might be flawed, but the outcome is all that matters. Our father could have been baiting the Alliance into attacking Sanc for all we know. Frankly, I like that theory. The theory I can't live with, the one you're hung up on, is that they'd hate you for becoming a soldier in a world at war. I think they'd be the opposite—they'd be proud of you…like I am," she added in a whisper, sneaking a look at Heero. He was still out cold.

Milliardo said nothing. Relena hoped she got through. He pushed the mug up and down along the edge of the table.

"You are the best choice, Milliardo," she said. "I can talk Angharad Fell Evershade into allowing you to be the leader. They have too much at stake to follow through on that threat to back out. She also forgets I'm a partner," Relena smirked. "I have time to make a choice and…"

"And I don't have to make any promise," Milliardo finished for her, though his eyes danced a bit. He was listening.

"I'm staying here," Relena told him, smirking back, "until you change your mind. Mars will have to have a leader. If you won't choose one, I will. And I won't pick anyone that does not believe he can do it."

* * *

><p>AN: This is the last of the two Relena chapters. I really wanted to see Mars from an outside perspective and she stepped forward as the best choice. These were easy to write during NaNoWriMo. Now, back to the main characters! I'm super excited about the next part. ;)<p> 


	10. Fires

AN: ***Edited chapter! I had to fix the horrible mistake I made with Mars's gravity! ;) I did some quick research and interpreted the numbers backwards. In retrospect, I can't figure out how I made the mistake to start with. All I can say is that this is one of my *known* problems. It takes me a long time to understand things. I should have researched twice. Thank you for not killing me. I'm super embarrassed because one additional trip to the internet might have saved me all the trouble. Bad GM! I should know my campaign world better than that. ;)

On the upside, I decided to add something to this chapter that I was going to put elsewhere. So…bonus material! I hope it makes up for things somewhat.

* * *

><p>Fires<p>

Supply Transfer Station  
>Mars Orbit<p>

"I recognize you," Lucrezia said to the Sweeper captain, who nodded and smiled and made a little bow.

"Thank you, Lucrezia of Rome," said the Sweeper.

Lucrezia smiled. "No one has called me that in a long time. You know the Roman Mobile Suit Legion."

"I had occasion to meet with them when I picked it up. If you will sign here, they will know you received it." She held out a tablet and a stylus. She wore black velvet gloves and an old-fashioned coat with piles of gold scrollwork on the lapels and cuffs. A waterfall of lace tumbled over her collar. Her blue eyes looked over the princess's shoulder while Lucrezia signed for the small case.

It was not the blue eyes, but the captain's long golden curls that jogged Lucrezia's memory and then all she recalled was a single image of a woman kneeling over her, blonde hair coming loose from a purple ribbon of the same kind Relena wore when she was Princess of Sanc. There was no telling where the memory came from. She met dozens of nobles and captains in her lifetime as a mobile suit pilot. She was probably thinking of another girl from OZ.

She handed the tablet back in exchange for the case. "Did you serve with OZ?" Lucrezia asked. "I feel like I might have seen you then."

"I was not in OZ, but I fought for your side," said the captain with a smile. "I heard you did well in the Sanc Kingdom."

"Thank you," Lucrezia said.

The captain bowed again. "I am Anaya. I am honored I could help with the wedding, even if only in a small way."

"You may come if you like. It is next month. There is time to make a return trip to Mars," Lucrezia said.

Anaya smiled. "I will be there. Good day, Lucrezia of Rome," she added before she turned her back and returned to the crowded concourse of the Mars supply transfer station.

Lucrezia watched her go, annoyed at the teasing memory. It was not the first time she spoke to Anaya, she was certain of it. Perhaps she might remember in time for the wedding, if she could keep anything straight. The event challenged even her organizational skills. Running a military academy and subsequently an entire country should make planning a wedding easy by comparison, but even with Zechs and Relena's help this was turning into a full-blown nightmare.

At least she had Zechs's ring. She could breathe easy now. As long as she had the ring and the dress, nothing else mattered apart from her and the groom. She really wanted to look in the case, but that was best left until she was back in her shuttle. The concourse was a mob scene. Three colony transport ships had arrived in the last three days and everything was being offloaded and reorganized. She came up with a crew returning to Earth and expected to drop back to the surface in about twenty minutes with a new group just arrived on Mars. After that, she doubted she would see her shuttle again for a while.

Lucrezia glanced back at the station with a sigh, knowing she and Zechs were going to have to find quarters for all of these people in the village. They had already given up their apartment and were crashing with the Astronomy crew at the new telescope building when they did not spend the night at the office. Construction was going on around the clock now; there was no real work week. The end-of-week campfire was still a tradition, but some crewmen attended in the middle of their shift.

Zechs and Lucrezia did not have a weekend and she discovered that was more normal to her. It was tough applying Earth's weekly calendar to Mars anyway. Princesses did not have a "week" or a "shift." They had responsibility. She could arrange a break when needed, but that all depended upon how many fires she currently tended. Lake Victoria had not been any different. If her life before taught her anything, it was that she was the kind of person who got picked to watch the fires.

"Treize, you'd be proud," she thought as she boarded her shuttle. From her pilot's chair she called the station manager to say she was ready to go. Kylie responded. The former quartermaster was now in charge of the entire supply operation and got to spend her shifts in orbit, but she never missed a campfire.

"Heading down in fifteen, Kylie," Lucrezia adjusted her headset with one hand, broke the seal on the case with the other. "Who am I waiting for?"

"Special passenger, Princess," answered Kylie, not the least bit of stress in her voice. Others might view this much activity as a disruption; Kylie called it a challenge. "She wants a shuttle to herself."

"Why…?" Lucrezia thumbed open the case and peered at the little box nested in a sea of grey protective foam.

"She's with Fell Evershade."

Lucrezia frowned and closed the case again. "Is it the CEO Relena is negotiating with?"

"That's her. It's a good thing you came up today. I don't want to send her down with regular crew. Is that all right?"

It was a problem, but not one she could not handle. Angharad Fell Evershade was threatening to pull her company off the Terra project unless Zechs stepped down. Relena promised she was going to deny Mars ESUN support if that happened. Zechs was still deciding.

Lucrezia hated standoffs. Not for the first time, she wished Treize was around. He'd have everybody's ruffled egos soothed in time for dinner and dancing—and there would be dancing. Treize had trained her. She could handle a CEO. Lucrezia knew what Relena was worried about anyway.

"Send her down. I'm not meeting her. She has to be at the shuttle on time or I'm leaving. Tell her that and make sure she knows she's traveling with me."

"Yes Princess," she heard Kylie's grin in her voice.

Lucrezia refused to wait on a CEO. Technically she was a head of state and did not need to wait on anyone. Twice elected queen…and Lucrezia felt her face redden in embarrassment although there was no one to see her. Relena wanted Zechs to accept the colony leadership position here in part because Lucrezia's status protected him from possible retribution from the ESUN. There was still debate over what Libra meant. Was Zechs a war criminal or a head of state? Treize never allowed him to formally abdicate. They argued he was only acting in his capacity as Prince of the Sanc Kingdom. Some argued he was a megalomaniacal madman with a real desire to destroy the planet. Relena hoped to head it off by keeping him in a leadership role; Angharad was unable to see past the presence of the Tallgeese.

Lucrezia was not going to give her the chance to gain the upper hand. If the CEO was not here by her scheduled departure time, this shuttle was going home to Mars and a rare family dinner. Relena had extended her stay on the grounds that she wanted to report on day-to-day life on the terra colony and she was entitled to the time off to attend a family event.

The clock ticked down to departure. Lucrezia stowed the case and began her preflight checklist. Something shoved at the shuttle, a hard shove that made her think of a mobile suit, and the transport fell away from her. The communication system sparked and died. Her shuttle tumbled from its place on the deck and fell into orbit.

Survival mode kicked in immediately. She fired the engines and found only one was working. It hit the side of her ship. The cameras stopped working. Outside the window, she saw a flicker of orange and a wash of shrapnel sparkling in the bright starlight.

Dividing her attention, she called down to Mars and tried the malfunctioning engine. It rattled and declined to light. The shuttle bounced into atmosphere that was a mix of Martian and Earth and both were equally dangerous for an uncontrolled reentry. The light outside her windows glowed orange.

Lucrezia forgot about communication and focused on her remaining main engine. She lit the backups. They rushed to life, evening out her descent. She was going slower now, but control was minimal. The best she could do was point the craft at the proper angle for a crash landing. There was no directional control. She could land, but not in a place of her choosing. Star charts appeared on her main screen when she asked for surface maps. Where was she in relation to the surface? The computer was confused. Whatever hit the shuttle shorted out her guidance system something horrible. Navigation by landmark was possible if she could get a fix on her location.

A strip of coastline emerged through the odd purple and red mix of clouds that resulted from the terraforming process. This was one of the ocean areas. Landing in the water was not the best scenario, but the shuttle could take it assuming the structural damage was minimal. Helplessly, she tried communications again with the hope of establishing a location, but the whole system was out. The ground was getting there fast. She fought the shuttle all the way down.

Starfall

"Zechs, we've had a collision on the supply station," Kylie's voice said in his ear. He was down in the mountain telescope's interior with Toya, installing the main computer. It took a minute for the words to register. He hit the speaker on the headset so Toya could hear.

"Say again," he ordered.

"A transport ship missed the dock and hit the supply transfer ship. We're listing pretty hard. Lost a few shuttles, I think. Can you assist?"

"What do you need?"

"All available pilots to evacuate the station," she said grimly.

"Understood," Zechs and Toya were already headed out. His shuttle was at the mountain. They'd be able to get to the transfer ship quickly. He called Lucrezia, but she was not answering. She was doing passenger runs between the village and the station today—likely she was already helping get people out.

* * *

><p>Not Starfall<p>

A long time ago, someone else gave her a dress. Treize ordered her to attend a ball and sent the orders in the form of a silver gown that glittered like stars when she picked it up. Her roommates, Sage and Jomi, eyed it—and Lucrezia—with interest.

"You're going to the Romefeller Ball. I wish I could," Jomi said with no envy. You had to have at least a drop of noble blood to go and Jomi was at LVA for her skill as a pilot, not genetics.

"I wish I could stay home," Lucrezia admitted.

"It would be better if you did not have to go with him," Sage agreed with sympathy.

"Sage, I don't mind going with Zechs Merquise. It's just that these balls are so…pretentious. Have you ever talked to anyone associated with Romefeller? All they do is plot and scheme and talk about their right to rule…it gets old fast."

"So sneak off and find a cute officer to flirt with," Sage shrugged. "You don't have to spend the whole time with the boring old lords and ladies, do you? You're still a student."

"If Treize says I do, yes," Lucrezia smirked. She held up the dress and shook the soft material again just to watch the stars gleam. If all of the stars in all of the galaxies collided at once, the resulting globe of light might resemble this dress. She loved it and she did not mind that she was going to the ball itself. Maybe she would take Sage's advice and sneak off with the cute officer who happened to be her escort.

The stars shimmered in her hands and filled the room. She looked at a different star field now, one marked with smoke and venting ships, the wreckage of mobile suits, and the brilliance of two battleships. A chime announced an incoming call. "Swiftlet…!"

"Treize…" Lucrezia answered. Her hands were full. One was wet. Her feet were pinned in the mobile suit. "I'm not going to lose him."

Treize smiled down at her. A blonde woman with golden curls and a worried face looked over his shoulder. She turned her face to give orders to someone Lucrezia could not see. Treize looked a bit more rugged than usual. His uniform was rumpled, collar askew. This would never happen.

"Why do you look like that, Treize?" she asked.

"You're in a little trouble," he smiled and pointed at a star gleaming outside the ship's docking bay. When had she gone back to the station? The star shone so bright it drowned out everything else. The final thing it eclipsed was the deep blue of Treize's eyes, smiling into hers. "You're in a little trouble…"

Lucrezia blinked and the star blinked back at her, gleaming on her left hand which clutched the edge of the console. It was her engagement ring sparkling in the emergency lighting. Her right hand felt wet. She swiped it across her face and saw it was wet with blood. It was blood from the in-console monitor breaking when the shuttle crashed. The memory assembled itself slowly, but she knew she was all right.

The shuttle was down and it felt like it was still moving. It rocked slowly from side to side and when it rocked forward it hit something with a short bang. Lucrezia stretched out her hand and touched the only screen that worked. The camera was stuck, but fortunately it was stuck in the right direction to tell her what was pushing the shuttle around. Water…she'd landed partly in the new ocean.

Even dazed, the princess was certain she was not entirely in the drink. The shuttle was caught on something. So were her feet. It seemed the other chair had jolted loose from the floor and toppled into hers. Painfully, she pushed it off and freed her legs. She stretched, testing muscles one by one. No damage apart from the cut on her hand and a little soreness… Lucrezia climbed carefully out of the pilot's chair to assess the situation.

The lights flickered aimlessly and the engines were dying. The first thing she did was check to see what limited diagnostic the crippled computer could offer. It gave her more than she hoped. Starboard engine was dead, blown up by the object that struck it. The port engine was up and so were her emergency backups. There were, however, holes punched in the hull from her landing. The shuttle was not space worthy.

That she could breathe was a good sign. Some areas of the surface were viable while other pockets of air stayed toxic. The atmospheric conversion was in the final stages, but it was by no means safe to be out in it. She had to fix the holes. Not a problem, not for a mobile suit pilot. You learned very early to take care of your machine in Rome. By the time she graduated to OZ, carrying the proper tools at all times was a no-brainer. Leaving all repairs to the ground teams was for the commoners.

Lucrezia pulled the first aid kit out of its compartment in the cockpit, opened it, and pulled out a roll of white bandages. She wrapped her hand to keep the blood off things while she worked. The cut was not deep. She checked the compartment for the case with the ring in it. This was undamaged, another good omen. Next Lucrezia dragged the tool bag and patch materials into the cockpit, unpacked, and took inventory. While she did this, she called Starfall repeatedly. Nothing happened. Her communications system was dead.

She glared at the portable radio—the one she was never supposed to be without—in annoyance. It had a good range, but she was too far from Starfall for it to do her any good. There was going to be trouble. First, without com, she couldn't tell anyone she was all right. No one was going to find her easily. Zechs and Relena would worry. Finally, she wasn't sure she could get the shuttle back to Starfall as it was. She doubted she could walk it, even with the space suit. She got the suit anyway, counting it among her assets. She had enough good engines to get the shuttle moving again. The suit was merely a precaution if she hit one of those toxic pockets of air…if the patches in the hull failed.

All she wanted to do was call Zechs. Maybe she was forgetting something…another way to communicate with home. The shuttle had an emergency beacon. A consult with the computer informed Lucrezia the beacon was inoperative, too. "I doubt that," she told the computer out loud. It did not have a voice interface so it could not reply. Lucrezia grabbed the patch bag and her tool kit and crawled into the tiny engine room.

She went to work in a hurry, navigating a path through the panels, wires, and chips of the computer and the metal pieces of the engines. The beacon had somehow been crushed. Her only hope was getting the engines back up and the shuttle out of the water. She worked fast to keep her mind in the present, away from Starfall. That she was alone on the surface of Mars did not escape her notice.

* * *

><p>Starfall<p>

"We'll need to replace it, disassemble it, and remove it from orbit," Kylie said, consulting a long list on the screen and sighing. "I don't suppose you can afford another one?"

Relena said, "Do you have what you need here to create a permanent station?"

"Most of our big stuff is—was on the transfer ship."

Zechs Merquise listened with half his attention, the rest focused on the personnel manifest on the screen in front of him. They were in the Village Office, all of them except Lucrezia, sleep-starved and hungry, waiting for the last shuttles to call in. Lucrezia's shuttle was tagged on that list. Without looking his fingers tapped a text message to her shuttle, the latest of many, knowing it was going to go unanswered and unable to stop trying.

"I'm not putting in for another one on our end," Angharad Fell Evershade informed them. The CEO insinuated herself into the meeting in the chaos of evacuation. Zechs did not want or need her here. His crew was perfectly capable of handling this. The CEO of Fell Evershade Biomed had so far displayed a lack of knowledge of the inner workings of her colony that placed them in danger if she continued giving orders. He staved off most of her idiocy so far. Admittedly he was unable to concentrate as well as he liked.

"We'll see what we can do to resupply you without it. Let's get started on that." Angharad told them. No one at the table replied. She looked angry. A small girl with bright red hair and an intense, nearly feverish, way of staring down opponents, she lacked Kieran's calm. Kieran sat at the farthest point in the room from his sister. Zechs's sister, by contrast, stood beside him. The irony did not escape him. Relena, who claimed to know him best through that ridiculous biography, was supporting him while Kieran's sister—who he had the luxury of not being parted from her entire life for her protection—pretended he was not in the room.

"The priority now is to make sure all of our people are accounted for," Zechs countermanded. A rush of activity around the table followed as everyone moved to carry that out. Angharad tapped her foot.

"We have to keep the project on schedule. Those shuttles have likely disintegrated."

Only Relena saw Zechs flinch. "We will search until we have confirmation."

"You're just unhappy because you lost track of your girlfriend today. That is of no concern to me." Angharad said. She tapped furiously at her computer, only to be interrupted by Howard's hand on her shoulder.

"I think you're done here, missy," Howard said as close to stern as he got.

"Who are you? I don't recall."

"Howard. I'm the bartender. And as I recall, you're not part of the Starfall leadership."

"But the bartender is," she said with open scorn. "Relena…"

"It's been a day, missy. How about I show you to your guest quarters…"

"I'm not leaving."

"She's leaving," Zechs said, raising his voice for the first time all day. He was done with it. Lucrezia had not replied. There was a problem now. At his side, Relena nodded.

Angharad tried to stare him down. He returned the stare with one of his own, honed by long practice, with his hands folded neatly on the table top in front of him. He held still, a statue, and reminded himself not to shout although he wanted to. He wanted to break the table. Lucrezia had not answered his call…

"I don't have to listen to you."

"This is my colony," Zechs said evenly. "By ESUN rules, you must listen to me at this time. You are merely a sponsor of the project."

"I am the funding! I am the project!" she did raise her voice, stamping around the table in her tiny tall heeled shoes to intimidate him. Again, she failed. He had the authority of the kings of the past. Relena stepped sideways so she was right by his shoulder.

"You are the funding, but you don't know anything about the planet. I am asking you to leave so my crew may finish their work and we may get some rest today." The others must sleep. He was getting in his shuttle and going to look for Lucrezia.

"How do I know you did not arrange for the station to plummet to the Martian surface the same way you tried to destroy Libra?" she snapped.

Howard took her arm. "Because I am here," he said. "I am the Sweeper Captain and I say so. You're done here." He steered her to the door.

Angharad twisted back to say to Relena, "This isn't over. I'll carry out my orders."

"And I'll stay and finish on my own," Kieran replied.

Angharad dug in her heels. "What did you say, Kieran? Who will support you if you leave us?"

"The Sweepers," said Howard.

"The Sanc Kingdom," added Relena.

Angharad looked from one to the other. "All for this man…? I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"We'll discuss it later, Angharad," said Relena gently. She even smiled. Zechs knew his sister could take care of this. He knew he'd tipped things in her favor. It was not the choice he wanted, but it was what he needed to do. He had probably known it all along.

Angharad allowed Howard to escort her out. Toya looked up from his spot at the table, two chairs over from Zechs. "You're the king," he said with a grin.

The king…he agreed to buy them some time to find Lucrezia, to get rid of Angharad while she tried to figure out what to do with him as colony leader. It was a tangle of political maneuvering that he would worry about later; it was time to go look for his princess.

* * *

><p>Not Starfall<p>

Lucrezia succeeded in getting the shuttle up and out of the water on her third try and fourth set of patches. The first set was defective and the next two tore under the stress as the little shuttle tried to gain altitude in spite of its numerous injuries. It and its tired pilot persisted until they reached higher ground. Lucrezia had kept the wild hope she might gain enough speed to make it home; the hope plummeted along with the shuttle. It just did not have the power in its current state. Reluctantly, she put it down, killing the engines to save power. Life support was dwindling. If the atmosphere was stable in this area, she'd be all right, but when the engines died down and she was left with nothing except silence it was hard to imagine.

The sun dropped below the horizon, turning the sky purple. Lucrezia watched the light fade in defeat. It was dinner time at home. It wasn't a campfire night, but everyone met up in the cafeteria on those days and it was still fun. Zechs would miss her… Lucrezia wondered again what happened to the transfer station and if the rest of the colony escaped injury. Perhaps it was only her shuttle that was damaged and everything was normal at home. If that was the case, Zechs was probably looking for her.

The idea filled her with sadness. She was the one who rushed to his rescue. It was not her job to worry him when he always had so much to do. As the last rays of light slipped from the sky she wished she was home and then berated herself for indulging in wishes when action was required. There was a case of rations in the hold. If she longed for dinner then there was plenty to eat.

It was getting colder. Lucrezia returned to the cockpit with both the rations and a scratchy wool emergency blanket to curl up with. If it got any colder, she'd have to wear the spacesuit. That was not a comforting thought, so she scrunched the blanket up tight around her shivering shoulders before poking through the assortment of emergency food. Energy bars, dried fruit, jerky, and some questionable cheese food were present along with a hefty chunk of dark chocolate. It was a grim assortment compared to the Village cafeteria.

One thing the Mars project had never lacked was food. It was a small comfort in a wild place. Fell Evershade had a generous food budget and approved all requests for nutritious things. One of the first established projects on Mars was the hydroponics farm that supplied their vegetables. Ember and Rhodri did a bunch of research early on about available light, working on an alien world, the differences in temperature and gravity, and the average calorie intakes of the terra team and support crew to come up with suggested meal plans. The comfort foods typically available at the campfires did not always fall into that—especially the beer—but even the doctors agreed it was important for morale. It was certainly uplifting compared to gnawing on an energy bar in a cold, dark shuttle.

Lucrezia did not want to turn the lights on, but she gave in with one small emergency lantern. She ought to try and make a few more miles. They shuttle's electrical system was so problematic at present that she could not turn on enough lights to see all of the controls. It was not exactly like flying blind. The arrangement of her control panel was committed to memory—another throwback to her MS days. She wouldn't be able to see where she was going without sunlight. Sinkholes like the one that grabbed the ocean generator and the Tallgeese were all over the planet's surface. If the engines died, she'd be landing on a prayer.

It might not have been a problem for her in OZ, but that was war and maybe she was more careful now. In the Sanc Kingdom, she was not allowed to pilot herself anywhere because she might get hurt. To work with the Preventers, she basically had to run away. Serena used to tell her all the time how valuable she was and to be careful. Lucrezia thought they were being overprotective—until she learned about the two elections. After that she felt bad about sneaking off to help Lady Une. Serena forgave her when she admitted it and forgave her again for leaving, even though it was sudden, romantic, and left the kingdom in the hands of a president for the first time in its history. Lucrezia did not feel like a real princess then, but she felt a little bit like one now as she thought about how the energy bar was not that good and her feet were cold, too.

She chose the sensible yet anxious path of spending the night here. Sleep seemed questionable, but she did not want to try moving the shuttle. She did not want to land and fall through the crust. The falling ocean generator still gave her nightmares.

In case she did fall asleep, Lucrezia struggled into the spacesuit and made sure the oxygen was charged. She left off the helmet, but kept it in her hand so she could slap it on in a second if she needed it. She pulled the blanket up to her chin, clicked on the dead radio just in case, and gazed into the blackness of the Martian night. Not even the lights of Starfall were visible…

* * *

><p>Starfall<p>

A battered shuttle was accounted for among the wrecked portion of the supply station along with the last of the missing. The whole crew—all members of Kieran's terra team—were badly hurt and en route to the hospital. Kieran informed Zechs he would take over, that Zechs should worry about the last shuttle. Lucrezia Noin was the only one left on his missing list.

He left the office and raced across the bright village to the medical building. Ember and Rhodri were busy with the dozens of injuries caused by the collision. It was a surprise to see her enter the storeroom where he went to grab a first aid kit. Of course everything was pulled apart already and he could not find a complete kit without ransacking the shelves.

Ember was a bedraggled mess in rumpled scrubs, her caramel hair knotted at the back of her neck. A surgical mask dangled from her ear. "Heya," she said tiredly. "What's all that?"

"Going to find Lucrezia," he said shortly. "She didn't check in. We think she's out on the surface. Some of the shuttles that got pushed off the station when the other ship collided with it ended up out there, but they made it back."

"She would call if she could…" Ember hesitated. They exchanged a long look. They had lost a team on the surface once to a communications failure. Because of that, the orbiting telescope could be diverted to scan the planet. It was a large area to scan and it took time to be thorough.

Ember tore her eyes away, grabbed a bag, and filled it for him herself. "I don't know what to say," she said as she handed it over along with a bundle of the gray wool blankets they kept around for emergencies. There was a pile of them by the fireplace in the cafeteria. It was a popular place in the evenings. He had planned to be there now with Lucrezia and Relena; he'd much rather be fighting Lucrezia for possession of a blanket than thinking about her needing one for survival.

Zechs left her without saying anything. They were both old soldiers. Words were pointless in the face of their challenges. He was either going to find Lucrezia or he wasn't and she was going to be fine…or she wasn't and then he'd… Zechs stopped on the path in front of the Hospital and closed his eyes for a moment. He felt clumsy. He imagined his heart hurt. It didn't, not like it did while it healed, yet he felt the tear. _I've waited all this time…_ Suddenly furious, he turned toward the airfield. After all this time, he wasn't losing her to a freak accident in space…

The village was a ball of tension after the accident and crowded besides. He had to run to get to the airfield, not just because he wanted to save time but he simply could not be drawn in to any of the problems accompanying the sudden influx of people coupled with the loss of the station. He wanted to be in his shuttle and away from it all, looking for her. Finding Duo waiting for him at the airlock was not a welcome sight. He tried to push past the Gundam pilot, but Duo grabbed his arm and stopped him. "You're coming with me," he said peremptorily.

"I'm going to look for Lucrezia," Zechs countered.

"Not alone, you're not. We're coming with you. Heero is already on the shuttle."

"I don't need help."

"Relena said we should go with you and she's right. Look, it isn't about your ability—we know that. You don't need any help." Duo left the rest unsaid, but Zechs could figure it out. Relena wanted them to go just in case. They were his backup if the situation became worst case. It was already worst case; he'd lost Lucrezia someplace on Mars. No one was going to want him for colony leader if anything happened to the princess.

Relena waited for them by the shuttle, her hands buried in the pockets of the Mars Terra Team jacket Zechs gave her on her first day in Starfall. "I'll let you know if we hear from her. Howard and Toya are moving the telescopes to look at the surface."

"Thank you," he said, for that was the only thing he had to give her now. What he wanted was for this to be a simple misunderstanding and Lucrezia to be waiting for him when they got back. His sister did not understand his silence the way Ember did—she couldn't. All Zechs could do was give her a fast, one-armed hug, before he boarded the shuttle. It was the only comfort he'd take.

* * *

><p>Not Starfall<p>

She slept anyway and decided to dream about Treize. He was in the other chair, feet on the controls and eyes on the sky. It looked like he was wishing for something although with Treize you could never be certain. Lucrezia knew it was a dream, but she wanted to talk to him badly enough that she let it happen.

"I have to decide who will walk me down the aisle. It's supposed to be you."

Treize looked at her with those tilted blue eyes that read your soul and smiled. "I think it's supposed to be your father."

"My father gave me to the mobile suit legion when I was old enough to walk. He said why would I do that? I wouldn't do that for any of my other pilots. The tradition no longer exists in Rome."

"It is an old tradition anyway. Most of the world does not use it now. Fathers do not give their children away."

"This is a traditional wedding. Everything is scripted down to the vows. I have to have someone to give me away."

"Then I'd be honored. I'll be there."

"I know you will, Treize," she said with a gentle smile because of course he would be. For a long time he was her only family, after she left the Roman legion and went to Lake Victoria. She was very young, but her skill as a pilot manifested itself even then. Treize took responsibility for her at LVA because no one else could. Her father forgot about her the day he put her in the military. Treize saved her life. A rocket, fired from an unknown assailant on the ground… If not for Treize, she would not be here.

"I suppose he already gave me away anyway," she whispered to the dark cockpit. When she opened her eyes, it was empty. Air was still flowing. The sun was rising. It was time to try again.

* * *

><p>Search<p>

To their credit, they let him fly. It was odd enough to be searching the Martian surface for Lucrezia without the two Gundam pilots in the other chairs. Zechs pushed the thought away. It was of no consequence right now. They were here to bring the shuttle back in the event he was unable to.

Ember was there, too.

At the last minute prior to takeoff, she sprinted across the tarmac and dogged the hatch, medical kit in hand. Zechs was unable to describe his relief at seeing her. "Rhodri and the medics have things handled," she panted as she dropped into a chair next to Duo. Heero was the copilot. "I'm with you then."

Any other time one of the doctors would have gone on a rescue mission. Today was an exception. He had been prepared to do this alone; first aid training was given to all officers of OZ. It was better with Ember here—immeasurably so—and the presence of his friend mitigated some of the awkwardness of traveling with Heero.

Heero did nothing save the duties of a copilot, watching the terrain outside the windows with customary lack of visible emotion. It was a relief, somehow, to see that. Zechs was shaken, more than he wished to admit, by Lucrezia's absence. A year ago he fought to force himself to get used to it; now it was impossible. Nothing save her return, healthy and in one piece, was going to make it better. This feeling was worse than having his heart physically shattered.

Ember, too, kept quiet and watched the instruments. Only Duo spoke, but he was in touch with the Village, getting updates from Howard. They were having trouble communicating with the telescope. Communications were patchy all over the colony right now. Toya was working on it, though, and Howard promised they'd fix it. And Hilde was up in orbit, searching with the _Maxwell Church_. They had the best sensors, the best cameras. They were going to find her.

No one could put him back together if they did not.

* * *

><p>Shuttle<p>

Mile by mile, Lucrezia traversed the desolate surface of Mars in her limping shuttle. She was able to make it short distances before the engines bailed on her. When they did, she landed and tinkered, patched, cajoled until they started again. Another few miles, the engines would fade, and she had to start over again. It was slow going, but she was making progress—the terrain slowly shifted from blank mustard-colored rock to greenery where the terra process took hold the strongest.

By now they had to be looking for her.

The last time she landed, she picked a spot with a green swatch of grass and settled the shuttle at the edge of it, thinking she'd use it as a marker. Zechs was looking for her, she knew it, and he'd have an easier time if she stayed put. The grass meant she did not have to worry so much about air quality in this area.

It was not in Lucrezia Noin's nature to wait to be rescued. She studied the map in the quiet cockpit while she ate her last piece of dried fruit, a sweet slice of apple, and debated going out on foot. It depended on what supplies she could carry. Oxygen was a concern given the unpredictable atmosphere; Starfall remained under a dome. She knew some of the terra crews were working without environmental gear in certain areas, but none of those were near here. If they were, she would have seen somebody by now…

That's what was wrong. No terra teams meant no pilots to take them out, meaning everyone was back at the Village because something was wrong. Lucrezia slumped back down in the pilot's chair, staring at the strip of dried apple in her hand while her imagination ran away with her. What if the station had fallen? What if the skies over Starfall had darkened with debris from the impact? Perhaps she was the only one left alive on all of Mars…knowing what a large object falling from space could do…

"Stop it," she said aloud. "Zechs is not dead and Libra has not happened here…" The words sounded wobbly in the stillness and not at all princess-like. She hated not knowing…

She dropped the apple and lunged for the board, tearing open the panels on the communications section. If she was going to be stuck here, she was going to try and talk to her village…and to her prince. She knew some tricks.

The system was badly burned. It was black and scorched under the panel, a tangle of wires that left black marks on her fingers as she struggled to sort them out without the standard color-coding. They could not all be fried…she could think of a way to connect some of them to what little power she had left and at least set up an emergency…

The shuttle trembled beneath her feet. Lucrezia grabbed the edge of the panel for balance and looked out the window. The sand in front of her was dropping. Her heart stopped. "This was rock," she whispered.

In front of her, the ground was falling, pouring into the widening sinkhole forming in front of the crippled shuttle.

Lucrezia fired the engines, or tried to. They growled and sputtered and made an interesting clanking noise that radiated beneath her boots before dying entirely. Another patch job might get her off the ground, but there wasn't any time.

The ground stopped sinking. Lucrezia waited, her stalled heart in her throat, and watched. The sinkhole had stopped forming, but it loomed right in front of her. She could see the yawning black emptiness of the lava tube below. After the ocean generator's fall, they mapped as many of the lava tubes as they could find. Some were incredibly deep. Inside a battered shuttle was not where she wanted to be, but if she left…

Another hiss, another clump of sand broke away from the edge. Her rocky landing site was suddenly a lie. It was no longer safe to stay here, but how was she going to move? The shuttle creaked around her. Half-frozen, Lucrezia watched her hand stray toward the storage compartment between the pilots' chairs where she had stored the ring. Something told her she had to hold onto it now.

After a period of time that seemed to rival the entire length of the war, Lucrezia felt safe enough to move. The shuttle did not creak when she stepped—lightly hopped, really, afraid of stirring the shuttle even a little bit and acting silly because of it—back to the panel. Nothing… She stared at the ring box she clutched in her sooty scraped hand. For this, she had to get out of here and get home. She was going to wear a beautiful gown and marry her prince. She was not going to plummet to her death in the caverns of Mars instead.

Forty tense minutes of pouring over the burned contents of the panel finally produced a possible solution. It required a great deal of jury-rigging, wire from one of her earrings, and—she noted with a smile as she untied it—cord from the handmade bracelet Trifine Cale made for her. It was clumsy and might only run for a few minutes…or if the stars smiled on her for once today it could run for hours. She had a communications beacon. It was only a beacon, but in a small way, she was finally talking to Starfall.

* * *

><p>Shuttle<p>

"Angharad wants to talk to you, Zechs," Duo rolled his eyes. "I'd tell her no, but the message is from Relena."

"Do we have to do this now?" Zechs growled. His head ached from staring at the sensor readouts for any sign of the target shuttle. He did not want to miss anything.

"Relena says hear her out."

"Fine, but I'm not going to be paying full attention."

Duo sent the call to Zechs's headset. Zechs did not glance up from the console. He was even letting Heero fly right now so he could concentrate on the display. "What is it, Angharad?"

"I have spoken to every department head in this village and they support you to a man. Why is that?" Some of the anger was missing from her voice. To Zechs, she sounded disappointed.

"They are my friends. I've been here for months, Angharad."

"They seem to find you credible."

Zechs blinked hard and rubbed his eyes when the screen refreshed its readings. "Angharad, again, what do you want? I am busy. Can we table this for a later time when I am not so tired?"

"No. We cannot. If for some reason you cannot find her, you won't be any use to me then. And that's the reason, isn't it? They trust you because of her."

Duo snorted. He was listening after all. "You have a comment, Captain Maxwell?"

"Hang around here a while before deciding what kind of people we are," Duo told her.

"I have a responsibility to my company."

"Yeah, and I have a similar deal with the Sweepers. Why not take our word for it?"

"I'm taking that into account—along with the presence of the Princess of the Sanc Kingdom. There must be something salvageable about you for her to abandon a country that loves her to live on Mars."

It occurred to Zechs then, what he was missing this entire time, what he should have thought about. In spite of everything, he smiled. "Angharad, thank you for calling," he said. "Your words have caused me to reevaluate something. I will explain it after the emergency is over."

"You can't keep me waiting forever. I can be out of here soon and yank your funding anyway. I have said I'm not going to stand for this, popular leader though you may be."

"You have said so and we have agreed to make up the difference through contributions from the Sweepers and the Sanc Kingdom, but that is not what we really need to talk about. Besides, you are not leaving until we have things cleaned up in orbit. I will contact you again when I have located Lucrezia and all of us may discuss this. It is her decision as well as mine."

"I want you to know it does not change my mind about you. I might have to live with you, but I don't have to like it. You should have died with Libra."

"Agreed," Zechs touched the button on the headset that ended the call.

"She'll be pissed you hung up on her," Duo chuckled.

"She hardly matters," Zechs said, but that was not really true. For the first time, he knew what he wanted to do about the future. For the first time he knew what it meant.

Ember leaned forward to ask, "Are you all right?"

"I am. I just realized I am not the one with a decision to make. Have you seen any life signs?"

She shook her head, "Only from the terra sites, Zechs. I'm sorry."

He nodded; he was not going to look away from the sensor readouts to meet her eyes.

* * *

><p>Precariously Balanced Shuttle<p>

Lucrezia waited as long as she dared, but unless she wanted to get up close and personal with the lava tube, she had to abandon ship. She studied the ground outside from the windows and the hatch and noted that the hole was primarily in front of her. She might have a chance if she escaped out the back, so to speak.

Gathering up the supplies she might need was a nerve-wracking affair of trying to acquire things from all over the shuttle without moving around a hell of a lot. There was a lot of stretching, reaching, and makeshift tools involved. Finally, she got all of the rations, a few tools, her regular clothes, and the first aid kit stuffed in a rucksack. Going out to the surface meant wearing the uncomfortable spacesuit. The air was probably good, but that wasn't enough to convince her to take the chance.

She crawled into the suit with distaste, remembering the last time she was forced to wear something she hated, when they were all aboard Peacemillion and the only thing Howard came up with for her to wear was that dumb brown shirt with the fringe. Thank God her dressmakers had never seen her in that…and then she laughed because she was thinking about stupid things like dresses…and stopped laughing when she remembered her wedding dress. She had to get home…

The cargo bay doors had taken damage and opened reluctantly. A rush of cool air spilled in, chilling her face until she slapped the helmet on. She wished for a scarf, but the spacesuit would keep her warm. If she had to be wandering about in what amounted to an early spring chill, so be it—she was prepared for colder than that. She looked forward to when the terra process was farther along—Kieran predicted it would warm up considerably once the ecosystem started to establish.

Rucksack shouldered, she took a deep breath and dashed down the ramp. The second her boots contacted dirt, the shuttle rumbled, tipping down and away. One moment of disorientation later, Lucrezia was safely on the rocky ground she first thought was there. Little green shoots of grass sprang up in the crunchy dirt. She dropped to her knees among them and watched the battered ship slide into the lava tube. It seemed relieved not to have to fly anymore. It fell, but she did not hear it hit the cavern floor.

Lucrezia passed a gloved hand over the soft blades of grass. On the palace grounds, there was a garden that took extensive damage during the last round of fighting in the Sanc Kingdom. Her first day as princess, Serena caught her spreading grass seed over the blackened ground. She received a scolding for doing the gardener's work and after that, a garden—repaired by some of the girls that attended Relena's short-lived school. They said it was a thank you, a gift for protecting Relena…and for coming back when the war ended. And Lucrezia watched the garden come back, a little more every day, green slowly overtaking the black.

The wind was picking up. She felt it try to permeate the strong fabric of the spacesuit and was glad to be warm. She did not know how far she was going to get. Zechs's ring was safely tied around her neck with some of the cord from the bracelet. She had to get it back to him.

An environmental sensor in her suit chirped. Lucrezia stared at the numbers on the inside of her helmet. That couldn't be right. There was so much grass here…but the cool spring like air was not breathable and the suit was registering low oxygen levels. How had that even happened? Was there damage to the suit she missed? According to the readout, she had about two hours of oxygen left. She checked the oxygen storage tank itself and got the same readings. The mix was off. There was another suit in the shuttle, but that was not going to happen.

She activated the suit's compass and location sensors. It had its own little beacon—she wondered why she hadn't thought of that before. Too long out of combat and she was getting careless. The suit did not have an updated map, but it told her where the closest landmarks were. She had moved nearer to the village, but was at least three hours away on foot. Lucrezia stared at the horizon, estimating how fast she could cross that distance. She could move fairly quickly in the light gravity, yet distance was distance…and she was in a lot of trouble if the air did not clear up between here and the village.

Well, she was getting nowhere standing here. After a quick check of her compass and making sure the zippers and ties on the rucksack were tight, Lucrezia headed off in what she calculated to be the right direction, her pace something between a walk and a bounding run. They were able to adjust for gravity differences over small areas like the Village. It always surprised her how different it was on the surface. At this rate, she might be able to cover the distance before the tanks failed.

An hour and a half later, she doubted she would. In spite of her determination to see home again and the words 'they'll find me' repeated over and over in her head like a prayer, she did not think she was going home. The tanks registered close to zero and the outside air was getting only marginally better. All of those years at war had probably used up her last bit of luck. It had to end. With each step, the green leaves and flowers of her palace garden swam closer and brighter before her. She was going there, instead, and it was going to be lonely because…

Zechs… Lucrezia stopped in the middle of the plain and clutched the place at her throat where the ring was. It was covered by the heavy material of the spacesuit. The environment was changing—it was more hospitable than it had ever been. That she could be out here at all was amazing and beautiful and she was so happy to have had a little part of it, even if it was mostly administrative and she did not know what made the terra project work…

Did she hear engines? Lucrezia's knees immediately buckled, but it wasn't exhaustion or weakness that dropped her. It was the buffeting presence of a big terra team ship—the kind she taught Kieran's techs how to fly. It circled above her, a big red monster with its engines painted yellow and a wide patch of scoring along one side. It landed at her left, engines howling this close to the ground, and the hatch swung open. A figure in Mars red stepped into the doorway, an oxygen mask strapped over his face. She recognized his patched jacket with the star insignia on the sleeve—Addison Cale from Astronomy. What was he doing out here in a terra ship?

Inside, she twisted off the helmet and took a deep breath of warm, artificial, recycled, and perfectly temperature controlled air. Addison took the helmet from her and steered her up front, where Kylie's "Loser Brother" Bob was already taking the ship up. She heard the hatch hiss shut. Addison shoved her into a chair. "Call Starfall," he said, "tell them we were right about the beacon. Princess, are you all right?"

"I'm all right," she nodded, holding up her hand to ward off further help.

"Hi Princess," Bob turned the pilot's chair to smile at her. "Fine day for a surface walk, but I'm surprised they didn't need you back at the Village."

"Shut up, Bob," said Addison.

"Shut up, you. It's a good thing you disobeyed Toya and dragged us out here to pick up those telescope parts."

"They're expensive and we knew where they fell."

"Yeah, we can track the damn supplies, but her shuttle? No way. We gotta get you home, Princess. Our fearless leader took off looking for you and that chick Biomed sent is making a ruckus at the village. On top of that, com keeps cutting in and out so nobody can talk to anyone."

Angharad…Lucrezia had forgotten. "Where did you say Zechs was?"

"Flying around looking for you…why didn't you call?"

"I couldn't. Communications went down. What happened?"

"One of the supply ships crashed into the docking bay of the transfer station," said Addison. He was stirring something in a steaming hot travel mug that Lucrezia really hoped was for her. He handed her the mug and a blanket. The mug contained the strong instant coffee the terra teams used to stay awake on long shifts. It was bitter and disgusting and the best thing she ever tasted.

Addison continued. "We lost a whole crew and a good amount of ships and supplies. The _Maxwell Church_ took minor damage. Fortunately we had a lot of extra pilots to help with the evacuation and cleanup, but Zechs was going nuts because he couldn't find you and made everyone stay in the village."

"Except you," she added.

"Well, we were using the satellite telescope to find people and it happened to pick up a bunch of supply containers scattered out here. I was hoping I could recover some of the guidance system for the mountain scope. So I found the only pilot willing to disobey a direct order and headed out. We picked up the signal on the way back in."

"Oh, a direct order!" said Bob with a grin. "Whatever. It's not like he's in charge."

"He is too," Addison replied. "Did you make that call?"

"Yeah, but there's a lot of traffic on the system—it's slow going."

"Well, head back. Rest up, Princess, we'll get you home."

Lucrezia was only too glad to obey. The ship rattled around her as it cruised through the atmosphere; it was bulkier than the shuttles—clunky in the air like some of the mobile suits. It was a kind rattle, soothing her nerves and lulling her to sleep even with Addison and Bob arguing over how to tell Toya they broke the rules.

"How far from Starfall are we?" she interrupted, remembering she did not know exactly where she was.

"Only thirty minutes," said Bob cheerfully. "You have time for a nap."

A nap was not what she was thinking of. It was the distance…she never would have made it. Shivering lightly, she touched the ring on its bit of emergency cord around her neck.

* * *

><p>Starfall<p>

Lucrezia Noin did nap on the trip home, dreaming of silver and the ballroom under candlelight. Treize liked old things. When he threw a ball, people danced the old waltzes, dressed in old fashions, and arrived in horse-drawn carriages. He spent a lot of money and time on these things. It was all so magical when she was a teenager, a veteran of the Roman MS Legion where no one indulged in frivolity. She was fascinated by the carriages, the black and white horses, and how the elaborate production made even Zechs Merquise smile when he escorted her up the long marble staircase in front of Treize's family home. The beads and jewels on her long silver dress skimmed the ground as she walked. It was that sound and that of whispering silk, the horses tossing their heads, the faint music on the other side of the grand doors that triggered her memory of the otherworldly night. Her days might belong to guns and giant robots, tactics and training, but on that night she was like any noble lady hoping for adventure at the ball. And that was Treize's goal...

She woke up only when Addison and Bob each offered her a shoulder and a hand into a jeep waiting by the airlock. She didn't remember them waking her. Was she that exhausted? In the simulated Earth environment of Starfall, she didn't think so—in fact she felt much better. Even so, Addison drove her straight to Medical where Rhodri Lee Sunwing swept her through the darkened halls to the ER to look at the cut on her hand. He gave her something to drink and checked her vitals, saying she was dehydrated and extremely lucky. His voice swam in and out; it was his eyes that kept her attention, the very same blue as Treize's eyes.

"Where is everyone?" she finally asked, looking around the empty room.

"We've treated all the major injuries," Rhodri said without looking up from his work on her hand, which she held flat and palm up on a small table. She did not feel him stitching up the wound. "I'm waiting for Ember—and Zechs. You'll be here waiting for him or I'll never hear the end of it."

"He really went looking for me?"

"Why the hell wouldn't he?" now Rhodri did look up in astonishment and Lucrezia only blushed and looked away. Zechs never had to look for her before, not once. It surprised her.

"He left with Heero, Duo, and Ember when we accounted for all of the ships save yours."

"My communications system was destroyed," she mumbled.

"We thought it was something like that. He hoped…well, it isn't important. They should be here. I'll go see, shall I?" He stood up, got a clean bandage and gauze and wrapped her hand with it. "There are clean scrubs in that closet there," he pointed. "If you can be careful of that and not get it wet, the showers are through there…but you know that."

"Thank you, Rhodri," she said in a small voice. It was a relief when he left and she could gather up the suggested scrubs and slip away. The whole time he worked on her hand, a scream waited in her throat—not from any pain she felt but from the panic that was always a breath away.

In the shower, she stood under the rush of hot water, her injured hand gripping the top of the wall to keep dry, and kept her eyes closed. Inside she was crying, but her at last her breathing settled. If she allowed it, the yawning emptiness of the surface surrounded her. This was Starfall, this was home, she told herself and when the barren surface threatened to creep back into her thoughts, she shoved it away with the memory of the silver dress, of how heavy the long skirt felt swirling around her feet. She thought of the jewels that shone like stars and the nervous catch in Zechs's voice when he told her a secret as they stood in the center of the dance floor.

Lucrezia opened up every walled-off good memory she had to keep from panicking. For the most part, it worked, but she emerged from her long shower feeling as if she had cried anyway and missing Treize. There was no one to give her away—why did that mean so much? Really, wasn't she tougher than that?

It took a lot longer to dry off and change into the scrubs than it should have, even one handed. Presentable at last, she stole back to the ER, her feet making no noise on the tiles. The room seemed empty.

She was about to head for Rhodri's office when the doors thudded open behind her. Lucrezia turned in time to catch a glimpse of wide blue eyes and severely tangled golden hair. The glare Zechs gave her registered a split second before he crashed into her with strong arms and furious kisses. "You didn't answer," he said, accusingly. Lucrezia had nothing to say. His presence was enough to banish the emptiness for good.

Zechs held her for a long time. In the last months, since Ember lifted the restrictions on his activity, he had gained a lot of muscle back. Something about this felt almost the same as during the war, when she might have a minute, or three, or ten—it was impossible to say—to spend with him before something called one or both of them away.

Not now… Now they could stay. She freed a hand to touch the ring safely hidden in the pocket of her borrowed shirt. It had taken a lot of work to get it here.

She looked up at him and for a moment saw Milliardo again, scared and alone, enduring a pain that would never heal entirely, with anger the only cure. In spite of the truce he made with the past, the fear of loss would always follow him. There were certain scars nothing could heal. Today brought it all back. "I'm sorry," she closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. You're safe…aren't you? What happened to your hand? Rhodri said you nearly ran out of…oxygen." Zechs took her injured hand and stared at it as if to critique Rhodri's work.

"I only cut it when the shuttle crashed. I've been hurt worse..." Mobile suit pilots were normally a collection of bruises and broken ribs. Their time in OZ could be counted in trips to the infirmary. He did not appreciate this reminder.

"I am taking you home, under the pretext you are much worse off than you are, so I do not have to speak with our guest until tomorrow," he closed his eyes, "since it seems I have accepted the colony leadership for the time being."

"I take a day off and this is what happens?"

"Not funny."

"Are you ready…?"

"I've never been entirely ready for anything I've been asked to do. The only difference is this time I will not be alone..." Zechs kissed her cheek…and pretended to look in her shirt pocket. "Now what's this that you are protecting?"

She bowed her head, "Something you were not meant to see yet…"

"Can I anyway…?" he sounded so hopeful she could not refuse him. Zechs was not the easiest person to give a gift to and so did not receive many. She was anxious to give him this one; enough that tradition ceased to matter. She untied the cord and let the shining silver ring slide into her palm.

"They used to say in the Sanc Kingdom that the prince was going to come back...perhaps a certain princess did not do much to dispel this myth. Around six months after Relena decided I should be a princess there was a meteor shower…shooting stars. The world was once upended by shooting stars so there was quite a commotion over it. Some of the meteorites fell inside the kingdom on the coastline. There was a rush to find them…I admit, once we heard they were discovered on the beach, Relena and I had to see if we could find one. We combed that whole beach and found three…came back tracking sand all over the new palace kitchen, but we were so lucky. And Serena was mad at us for a week."

It was worth it, too, she thought, remembering how close the stars seemed from the beach…and how close she felt Zechs might be when she walked beneath them. After that, she sneaked out to the beach at night when the emptiness was at its worst and her royal guard despaired of ever stopping her…

Rather like Zechs had done with her, she took his hand. "I kept one. When it turned out that our prince truly had returned and needed a ring," Lucrezia met his eyes and noticed he was smiling, "I asked a favor. The jeweler responsible for restoring the recovered crown jewels was able to make this from that meteorite…and platinum acquired from mobile suit engines courtesy of my old friends in Rome. I thought perhaps a prince of the stars ought to have something from space..." She slid the ring on his finger and was pleased to see it fit. A sparkling river of diamonds bisected the meteorite, which had polished up as bright silver as the platinum. "I hope you like it…"

"My ring…is really from space?"

"From space," she promised. "You can ask Toya."

"I can't wait to show Toya…he's going to be jealous."

"You sound like you're five…" she giggled, although she was relieved he did not think it was a silly idea. She had wanted him to come home so much…

"Can I…wear this now?"

"Yes," she answered, suddenly shy as she looked at their linked hands and the two glittering rings the color of stars. Was she feeling lightheaded again…or was this…? "Zechs…" She took a breath to steady herself, but the rush of anxiety did not happen. It was safe. And he noticed it, too. It was happiness, something two old soldiers were not supposed to have.

Zechs smiled. "Come on. Let's get you home."

* * *

><p>Village Office<p>

The next morning, Zechs led them all into the Office—a dead man, a runaway princess, doctors, astronomers, two Gundam pilots, the captain of all the Sweepers, and the Vice-Foreign Minister—to see Angharad Fell Evershade. Kieran waited with her, clearly out of a sense of politeness for the instant the Starfall leaders appeared, he got up and went to stand with Zechs's group.

Angharad did not fail to notice his defection. If she was surprised by the show of support, she did not say it. Instead, she looked at Lucrezia.

"I heard you found your own way back."

"You were scheduled to travel with me—you missed quite a ride."

"I don't think I shall regret it," Angharad replied. All the time glaring at Kieran, she moved right to the point. "How many other mobile suits have you hidden here?"

"None are hidden," Zechs said with a half-smile. "I should think the location of the Tallgeese is perfectly obvious." Lucrezia bowed her head to hide a blush. He stared at her a moment, his soldier-girl, a bit more worried than he'd like to be. He didn't want to think about the damage his choices exacted from her as much as he knew they did. Nightmares kept her from a much needed rest after her long trip home. It was likely he was the only one to notice how tired she looked…

"I can't believe that. Why bring it here in the first place?"

Why indeed. "To remember," Zechs told her.

"Remember what? How to fly it? How you can attack us while we work for peace?"

"To remember what happens when we don't," Howard said.

"I was not addressing the bartender."

"You're right—you're talking to the leader of the Sweeper Group and the biggest financial backer of this project besides you. I've put in a lot of time and effort here and I'm not gonna have you mucking it all up with your politics. So you don't like Zechs—so what? He's rallied the troops and brought you a viable economy in scientific research and all you can see is that mobile suit in the mountain. And the only reason it's out there is to save some of your people and equipment. If that's the last legacy of the Tallgeese I'm okay with it."

Angharad rubbed her eyes. "I understand, but I have a lot of other people asking me why I'm letting this happen. Family business or not, we have a board of directors. We have contractors. There are questions. I'm not fully comfortable with it myself. The only thing keeping me on the fence now is…you've got the backing of the biggest symbol for peace and unity in the Sphere and no one will fight Sanc."

"Then don't fight us," Lucrezia said. "Stay for a while and figure out what you want."

"I don't know if I can."

"Look, the quickest ride out of here is on the _Maxwell Church_ and it's damaged. You can ask for a ride home from one of your ships, I'm sure. If you decide to stay and evaluate the progress first hand, I doubt your board will see that as a detriment."

Angharad gave Lucrezia an appraising look. "You…are the reason I've let it go on as long as I have. I did my research. I know you came up through the Roman Corps—a mobile suit legion that liked to fight more than it liked to talk, but more than any of that, once you find a cause you never let go of it. I respect that. You've always demonstrated a high degree of personal honor. I can't reconcile that with supporting a monster." Her eyes slid to Zechs. It had always been more than he felt he deserved…and never his choice.

"I can contact your board myself," Lucrezia said gently, "and request permission for an evaluation to be made. As long as we are all here, what is the harm in that? Relena will not be able to extend her visit indefinitely. Think of it as a one-time chance. You can work with all of the relevant people…including Zechs Merquise. And there are no more mobile suits. I am responsible for the use of the Tallgeese."

"I will need to make independent confirmation of that."

"You will have whatever access you require, however," Zechs gave her a pointed look. "You will watch and not interfere until you know how things operate on Mars. I will not allow anyone to be put at risk."

"You do seem to care. Let's hope that bears out under observation." Angharad looked over at Kieran. "And I already know the opinion of our man in charge here."

"We wouldn't be this far without him," said Kieran.

"I'll take that under advisement. I will not force an adjustment in the leadership at this time. I will stay with Miss Relena and see if we cannot come to some mutual understanding that will keep all of us happy."

"Good, glad that's decided," Ember said without her customary smile. She walked around to Angharad's side of the table to offer her hand. "I'll vouch for him, too. If you want, I'll even let you start evaluating in the hydro lab—you can see some of the other science we do here." Zechs almost smiled because he knew that Ember would have their guest up to her elbows in dirt within the hour should she accept such a kind offer.

Angharad was unable to argue with it, especially when Relena announced she would like such a tour herself. Of course Relena had already seen it, but Angharad did not know that. She followed Heero, Relena, Rhodri and Ember from the office without a backwards glance.

"I have a lot of work to do," Kieran said flatly, collecting his jacket and radio from the table.

Toya added, "So do we. Come on Howard, Addison…might as well get ready for our turn."

"I'm going to check on my ship," Duo said. "I'll see if we can complete the repairs as slow as possible," he added with a wink and left after the astronomy team, leaving Zechs and Lucrezia alone.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked again.

"I'm not the only one who can do it," Zechs reminded her. It was a good time to get Lucrezia's answer…yet Zechs hesitated. For right now, he did need to be on Mars—they both did. Accepting the peacetime colony with all its rough edges intact was important for the future. Leaving now would weaken Relena's position, if not her trust. It had to be discussed, but it could wait until Angharad got her tour…and Lucrezia a nap.

"My first order of business is to send you home for the rest of the day."

"Zechs…"

"You are free to help Toya as long as you don't leave Astronomy—only if you take a nap first."

"How are you planning to enforce that?"

"Are you daring me to try?"

Lucrezia smiled up at him through her long hair, her familiar smile, affectionate and teasing at once. "I like a challenge…especially those I share with you."

Something changed with those words, with her off-hand comment another piece of his heart torn apart…or stitched together. Impossible to tell… he crossed the space between them in one quick stride and pulled her close, hugged her as tight as he could. Yesterday…if anything more had gone wrong yesterday he might be talking to the empty sky. He fumbled in his pocket for the radio.

"Toya…Lucrezia needs to rest. I'm going to make sure that she gets it. Inform me if Angharad stirs up anything, otherwise…"

"I'll keep watch," his friend's voice assured him.

Zechs took her back to Astronomy, where she was surprised to find he really did insist upon her sleeping. And she did not argue much. She curled up under a pile of down comforters next to him while he got as much work done as he could from his side of the bed. It was mostly paperwork—could be done anywhere. Now and then she stirred in her sleep as if bothered by some dream; he stroked her hair until it ended, enthralled by what his touch could do, that hands he once thought of as irreparably bloodstained could comfort the bravest soldier he knew.

He looked out at the colony, going about its day. Ships rose and fell on the skyline, bright silver against the red sky, taking the terra team to work. The reports in his hands covered the replacement of the transfer station and new data from the telescopes. This was normal. This was home and safe. And it was time.

He'd known it for a while now; he was finished healing. The number of bottles of pills on the counter had decreased, but more than that he no longer feared the space between breaths. He did not wonder why he was allowed to live anymore. The decision to come here was part of the healing. All it took were those words Relena and Toya asked for.

It was time. If she agreed, they would help the rest of Sanc heal. It was his job as their king. It was something he knew all along, not to leave them behind, but to go on ahead of them, learn the hard things, and take what he learned back to the kingdom by the sea. No one person had all of it. Treize gave him some of the pieces and so did Heero, Duo, Howard, Relena, and Noin. None of them were completely right; all of them did their best. All that they gave him had to be shared.

"I'm the king," he whispered to the sky, looking past the ships and clouds to where he knew Earth must be.


	11. Princess of the Stars

AN: I totally ran out of Wednesdays before I knew it. Seriously, I thought there was another one in January. And then...I couldn't upload the chapter. How about a little weekend reading…?^^

Queen of the Stars

Mars  
>Five days to the royal wedding…<p>

Zechs hadn't thought about where he lived in years. He was a soldier and he went where he was needed. Before, he stayed on military bases as much as possible and only Lake Victoria Academy stood out in his memory. Rare moments off duty were spent either at Treize's estate or wherever Lucrezia was. During the war, he went back to his family's home once on official business and twice in secret to check on Lucrezia and Relena, but he never could stay long. Libra he hardly remembered and Tallgeese he did, having spent many hours dozing in the cockpit between destinations.

The year at Ember and Rhodri's colony hospital he recalled in bits and pieces, either pain or drugged to alleviate pain, or recovering from pain. It was so much pain he did not like to count it except for it being the longest he'd lived anywhere since LVA. Mars was in the running, but their apartment on the Square was long gone, given to new colonists, and they'd moved into the telescope building. It was a choice based on necessity, not any real desire to live there.

It was not a bad set up by a long shot, just required a little more discretion. For example, acquiring a midnight snack meant sneaking into the kitchen under cover of darkness. Astronomy got its own dining hall when it was decided the whole team was taking up residence in the building. Everyone had private apartments, but the kitchen was communal. The risk was encountering a wakeful scientist filled with excitement about newly discovered stars, a mapped nebula, or a heretofore unknown planet tooling around a distant sun. As colony leader—his stomach tied itself in knots when he thought about being leader of a colony insane enough to chose him for the role—Zechs always felt duty bound to listen. It was like Treize lived in the back of his head repeating 'mind your manners.'

Fortunately for tonight, most of the insomniac staff was already on the roof. When Zechs and Lucrezia moved in, Toya Kiri decided to resurrect the old star-gazing parties from LVA. Six small telescopes were installed on the roof. Howard brought up a grill and a table. Every day for a week, Addison Cale 'borrowed' a chair from around the colony, including the main cafeteria, the hospital, and Zechs's office until he had enough for everyone. Lucrezia was in on it, too, sweet-talking Jomi and the band into one giving up two or three little speakers for a sound system. As per usual, Zechs restricted his involvement to one or two eye-rolls, a long suffering sigh, and allowed them to do as they desired.

Like at LVA, he made the trek to the roof at night because Lucrezia did. It had nothing to do with Toya showing him Earth gleaming like a blue diamond in the telescope, the impressive home-brew lager Howard devised, or Jomi's new songs. All of that was fine, of course; Lucrezia's presence made it better. If all they did was stay in the apartment and stare at the ceiling, at least he was with her.

It was Astronomy, yet since Zechs lived here, the Treize-voice reminded him it was only polite to offer to get drinks for everyone. The prince padded barefoot through the echoing kitchen from the hall that led back to the rooftop stairs. He scowled at the reflection of his face in the polished metal doors of the refrigerator, straggling bangs clinging to his cheeks and chin.

Zechs stopped and stared at himself for a minute. What possessed him to keep his hair this way? Maybe he ought to cut it. He twisted it back. No, that wasn't right, either. Maybe it wasn't the hair…or the face in the mirror. His appearance concerned him in so much as it pertained to whatever role he played at the time, yet the delicate, sharp-featured young man frowned too much. He tried to relax his eyebrows into a less-threatening position. It didn't really work. He was still too tall and too…pretty.

With a sigh, he let the hair fall back and tucked it behind ears that stuck out just a bit. At least the bangs covered _that_. No, he still didn't feel like a colony leader. After all those years of being in command, it shouldn't bother him so much which meant the suspected reason was likely the truth. He looked up at the ceiling. The faint sounds of conversation and music floated back.

Thus armed with a cooler and a blanket—since Lucrezia might want a blanket—he trekked back up the stairs. On the way he passed the door to their apartment. Although it was slightly smaller than the place on the square, he liked this one better. The windows looked out on the whole Village instead of just the square and the rocky planet beyond. One could even see the Tallgeese in the mountain. They had the same amount of furniture-one bed, two trunks (former shipping containers) for clothing, and a lot of empty space. The only time they seemed to have in the apartment was to sleep. If they were here, they were in a lab, in the main telescope control room, or up on the roof. If they lived anywhere, Zechs felt they lived at the Village office and aboard the shuttles ferrying projects and people around. His time in the sky was cut short now; he was needed in the Village more than ever.

The door to the roof was blocked open with a Fell Evershade Biomed shipping crate labeled 'lenses.' He shouldered his way in. It was a big square area—prefab building like the rest—with the telescopes and grill at the farthest end and the table near the building. Zechs dropped the cooler on the table and informed the group at large the beer was restocked. Toya lifted his head from the eyepiece to say thank you; the rest of his team was engrossed in a tablet and another scope. They were discussing the status of the storm on Jupiter.

Howard and Lucrezia were at the other end of the roof, the former kicked back in a lawn chair with a margarita, a blender standing upon a tiny table next to him. This was Howard's usual nighttime spot. He haunted the control room during the day. Lucrezia had her feet up on another crate and her eyes closed, a tablet dangling forgotten in her fingers. She used the rooftop time to work the same as he did, just like they used to study on the roof at LVA.

Addison's kids were the ones doing homework this time. The patch of roof they had staked out was covered in sidewalk chalk drawings, stacks of textbooks, and two sleeping bags. They eyed Zechs as he crossed the roof to his place by Lucrezia. They still didn't know what to make of him, if they should be afraid or not, but Trifine put down her book and came over anyway.

"Is the princess asleep?" she whispered politely. Lucrezia opened one violet eye and smiled.

"I believe not," Zechs replied.

"Good, then I can give her this. I made another bracelet to replace the one she used when she got lost on the surface."

Lucrezia accepted the new bracelet—white and purple cord this time—and said, "Thank you. I was very glad to have the first one. I'm sorry I had to take it apart."

"That's what you are supposed to do with it. The rules are, if you use it, you tell me the story and then you get another one."

"Thank you again, Trifine." Lucrezia put the tablet aside and got up to stand in front of Trifine. "I have a question for you, then. Do you know how many attendants I need in a royal wedding?"

"Dad showed me where to look it up. You need three bridesmaids and a flower girl in the Sanc Kingdom's tradition."

"That's right. I don't have a flower girl yet. Do you want to do it? It's important—when we all walk down the aisle, you have to go first. You lead the way."

"I go before you?"

"The bride goes last," Lucrezia nodded. "You helped save my life, Trifine, so I'd like it a lot if you'd be in our wedding."

Zechs thought Trifine was going to topple over from joy. The girl was normally pretty unflappable. She made survival bracelets and read books about tying knots, getting lost at sea, and living off the land. Her biggest wish was to swim with sharks and she pestered the terra crew daily about when the ocean might be ready for them.

"You mean it?"

Lucrezia's expression changed to one of regal seriousness that Zechs found irrefutably charming. "A princess does not make such a request in jest. Go ask your dad." Her tone reminded him of Treize.

Trifine almost fell over her feet as she raced over to the astronomers at the other end of the roof, yelling "Dad, Dad…I saved the princess! I can be in the wedding! Please, Dad?"

All of the astronomers made a big deal out of this, forcing Toya to give up on the storm discussion. He wandered over while Trifine was telling the bracelet story again and said to Lucrezia, "She got her biggest wish. She rescued someone."

"She's gonna be insufferable," Grayson warned them. "And she's gonna want you to sew emergency cord into her flower girl dress."

"Damn smart girl," said Howard.

Zechs fell back on the usual tolerant smile and stared up at the star drenched sky, shimmering faintly with reddish dust. The dome was gone, the atmosphere having passed the last of the tests in the past month. It was better without it. The air and the oceans working together were forming an original ecosystem with Mars. They were introducing bigger trees now, and animals. Trifine was going to get her sharks. And in less than one week, Mars was hosting its first state event, his wedding. The wedding of a lost prince to his country's missing queen…

"What…?" Lucrezia whispered in his ear when she saw him lost in thought under the silver stars.

"Just stargazing," he said. "Isn't that what we're doing?" It was not the kind of thing he wanted to get into with the others around, even Howard and Toya. It was not about trusting them. Out of respect for the princess, he had to save it for later.

Zechs waited until the star party ended and the last of the astronomy team slinked off to bed. Addison took the kids home first. Toya stayed the longest to pack up the telescopes. They could not predict weather here yet with any sort of accuracy. It was best to assume a rainstorm—or worse—could spring up at any minute. This night was bright and warm. A side effect of the current stage of the terra process was elevated heat. Mars was supposed to be colder than Earth in general, but the past few days were summerlike and nice. It was only at night when the temps dropped enough to need a light blanket.

"Staying up?" Toya asked as he took the last box to the door.

"Yes," said Lucrezia. "I still have reading to do. We'll put away the chairs."

"I'm turning in, too," Howard said, getting up and picking up the blender. "Gotta big day ahead tomorrow."

"What big day? You sit in the office and drink and bother me," said Toya with a grin.

"Yeah, that's a big day! I need my rest. Good night, Zechs…Princess." He winked at Lucrezia and followed Toya to the door.

"What I'd give for a day like that," Zechs said once they were gone.

"You'd be so bored," she said, going back to her tablet. "And Angharad would miss you," she added with a devious grin.

The CEO was staying for the wedding, not by choice, but for political reasons as Relena hinted strongly it would make her happy. Relena was still trying to force an agreement. She did not know yet that her brother was done negotiating.

"I told Angharad I'd be the colony leader to shut her up long enough to go looking for you. As well as that turned out, I should have stayed quiet." He shot his bride-to-be a glare. "It is completely impossible for you to allow me to fly to your rescue."

"That's my job," she giggled.

"Nonetheless, I have informed Angharad we will hold another election to confirm this. Prior to that, I must have a discussion with the charming princess of Sanc regarding the future."

"Charming?"

"Yes…" Zechs reached over, grabbed both arms of her chair, and dragged it and said charming princess around so she was facing him. Lucrezia stared in surprise; he pulled her closer until their knees touched and stared pointedly into her eyes. The surprise melted with her resolve; after all these years he knew what worked. There were some advantages to his appearance.

She glanced at his hands still resting on the arms of her chair. "Muscles," she said succinctly, touching his arm.

"Don't try distracting me." Her touch was soft as starlight.

Her hand stayed put, but she nodded. "All right, what question do you have for me?"

"You assume the question is for you and not Relena?"

"Relena…?"

"The Princess of Sanc…"

Lucrezia dropped her chin to hide behind her bangs, a surefire sign he'd made his point. "I'm sorry…it's just that she doesn't…"

"She doesn't think of herself that way, but you do," Zechs finished for her. Lucrezia tipped her head up to look at him, displacing her shield. He stroked the long hair back. It was almost all one length now—she hadn't cut the back part short since moving to Mars. It brushed her shoulders, curling at the ends.

"I'm not mad," he said quickly to forgo any doubt that might send her packing. Her hand trembled a little on the tablet. He took it away and put it down on Howard's blender stand. "I wanted to see what you'd say."

Lucrezia tried to glare at him, but it did not exactly work under his full regard. "Curse Treize for teaching you tricks like that."

"Not the point. And he taught you, too. You fell for that one."

"Fine… What is your question, my prince? Is this a formal thing or am I being seduced?"

"Yes and no… I do have a real question. And I need an honest answer beyond what you usually tell me about being my royal guard, so to speak. Which I also find charming, by the way…" he kissed her quickly. "So don't think I'm frustrated by that. Simply put, my decision regarding Mars depends upon what you want to do with this situation in the Sanc Kingdom."

"What situation?" Lucrezia looked confused. "There isn't anything wrong. I speak to Serena weekly and she never said there was a problem…"

"Except…"

"I guess…" she bit her lower lip, "the problem of electing a leader."

"And…?" Zechs leaned a little closer until his bangs brushed her forehead.

"You're going to make me say it?"

"Yes."

Lucrezia closed her violet eyes and cringed in her chair. "It's the same thing that is happening to you, here, isn't it? We all ask you over and over again to make a choice…and I have the same choice. That's what you're trying to say."

"Right," Zechs smiled.

"You don't want to be the leader?"

"I don't know what I want to do if you don't answer my question."

"I thought I did."

"Almost," said Zechs. He took both of her hands in his. "What is your choice? Do you want to be Queen?"

"I want to stay with you."

"I know. That isn't up for debate, either. We've already agreed on that." He touched the ring on her left hand. "My question is do you want to be Queen?"

"It doesn't matter if I do, Zechs. You said you don't belong in your father's kingdom…"

"That's just it. We wouldn't be in his kingdom or mine…we'd be in yours." Her eyes got even wider at that. It was nearly comical. The constant red tint in the sky brought out the purple. She was looking at him as if he'd gone crazy, his princess with the purple eyes. When she did not reply, only kept staring, he said, "Why is it more important that I get what I want?"

"I never wanted to interfere…"

"I know. A long time ago I asked for your help when I had nowhere else to go. I knew Treize left you at Victoria Base for many reasons, among them a place for me to turn if things got bad. I regretted it then and I still fell into the habit of leaning on you every time. And I never stopped."

"Don't," she said quickly, turning her hand underneath his and squeezing it.

"I won't, but we have to decide what we want. I made a choice for us again when I brought us here. I had important plans for you and Relena—or so I told myself. Then I realized I once again made the choice without asking anyone. Did Relena need me here, causing her trouble? Did I need to endanger you twice on the surface…all for a telescope?" He freed the hand she wasn't squeezing the bones out of and stroked her hair again. "I never wanted you to be in danger again after we fought Mariemaia's army, so I thought I'd take us here…but I should have asked first."

"You did ask."

"I asked if you wanted to come with me to Mars. I did not ask if you wanted to do this in the first place."

"Oh Zechs, I'd have told the truth if I thought it was a horrible idea."

"And you'd still be here, thinking it was a horrible idea," he finished, sharing a smile with her because they both knew it was the truth. "It wasn't horrible. I'm happy we came here. We helped build a colony. Yet I wonder if we should have."

Lucrezia's smile faded, her pretty eyes turned serious. He'd hit on something, he could see. "What…?"

I feel…" her gaze searched their interlocked hands, "I feel like I left things unfinished at home. My place is next to you and yet did we do the right thing leaving them when the goal…our first goal…was to restore the Sanc Kingdom? Not for politics, or to make a statement, just for the people who call it home? When I was on the surface I remembered the garden the girls from Relena's school restored for me as a thank you for coming back. They were so happy that one of us came back…and then…I just left," she closed her eyes against the tears and smiled fiercely. "I'm a very bad choice for Queen."

"You are the best choice. Why do you think your king decided to lean on you all those years?"

"My king does not believe he deserves anything to protect. My king does not know the measure of his strength," she smiled, but it came with a trace of sadness. It was what he told her all those years, tried to make her understand, and that he did not believe anymore.

Sometime in the past year he stopped believing it. Maybe it was Ember's perpetual harassment not to give up. Perhaps it was Rhodri and Toya, traveling all this way on his word to participate in what amounted to Kieran's grand science project. It might be Relena and Heero arriving out of nowhere and staying. It might have been Heero's silence about the past and focus on the future they wrested from the Alliance. Duo working behind the scenes to help them and Howard's forgiveness might also be considered reasons.

It was all of those things…and it was none of them. It was finding someone to fight for without guilt. There was no obligation inherent in Zechs's desire to see Lucrezia happy. Lucrezia, the girl with no name but a call sign, the girl with blue velvet ribbons who agreed to go to a ball with the world's most broken prince. The girl he leaned on. The girl he wanted since the first day she crossed his path at Lake Victoria, fretted about and waited for, and hoped to be worthy of—and probably wasn't.

"You gave up everything to follow me. There must be something left to believe in. If you will, I can, because I trust you more than anyone else in this world or the other."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "They never let me fly anywhere."

"I wasn't there to tell them otherwise. And I'll let you." Zechs said. He thought about what he would say to anybody that wouldn't let Lucrezia have what she wanted. He would put a stop to that if they went back to the palace by the sea. It was time he did a better job taking care of her. He'd have to make sure the observatory there was open…although it probably was repaired already as part of the partnership with Mars's telescopes. There were things he could do to make it more their home than a bad memory. They did not even have to live in that palace-there were eight or nine options if he remembered correctly-but he liked that one because of the ocean. They'd have to invite Trifine...only he did not remember if there were sharks in that bay.

"It's going to be hard," she interrupted his thoughts to ask. "Are you really sure...?"

She made it irresistible. "Lucrezia...don't make me repeat myself again." That made her laugh, and subsequently want to kiss him...quite a lot. Enough to abandon the roof for their apartment which, while mostly empty, at least had a bed, and did feel a lot like home at the moment. It was trite, but he knew exactly where he wanted to live and it was with her.

* * *

><p>AN: I've never read a story where they end up in the Sanc Kingdom...<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, Zechs, Lucrezia, Treize, Relena, Heero, Duo, Howard, Hilde, or Tallgeese. The Fell Evershade Terra Crew is mine…and everybody wants you to come to the Royal Wedding…next chapter! Yeah!


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